FRED  LOCKLEY 

RARE  WESTERN  BOOKS 

4227  S.  E.  Stark  St. 
PORTLAND.  ORE. 


The  UNftEQ  STATES. 


EODORE     ROOSEVELT 

'          '         PRESIDENT   OF  THE   UNITED    STATES 

CHARLES  EUGENE  BANKS 

AND 

LEROY  ARMSTRONG 

INTRODUCTORY -CHArrE^s'  9* 

GEN.  JOSEPH  WHEELER   AND 
OPIE  READ 

~~ 

S.   STONE 


TWENTY- SIXTH  PRESIDENT^ 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 


AMERICAN 


CHARLES  EUGENE  BANKS 


AND 
LEROY 


INTRODUCTORY -OH API E^s'  a*     > '  • 

GEN.  JOSEPH  V/HEELER   AND 
OPIE  READ  tl* 


S.    STONE 

175  Dearborn  Street    .'.     /.    Chicago 


COPYRIGHT  1901 

BY  E.  R.  DUMONT 


TABLE  OP  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

POEM,  by  GRACE  DUFFIE  BOYLAN 7 

INTRODUCTION,  by  GENERAL  JOSEPH  WHEELER     ...       9 
"A  TYPICAL  AMEBICAN";  introduction  by  OPIE  BEAD     25 

CHAPTER  I.— THEODORE  BOOSEVELT 33 

Sketch  of  His  Life.  Marked  Characteristics  of  the 
Man.  A  Product  of  the  Age.  Blood  of  Heroes 
in  His  Veins.  In  an  Age  of  Materialism  He  Stands 
as  the  Great  Exponent  of  the  Virtues.  His  First 
Historical  Work.  Ambitious  to  Do  Deeds  Bather 
than  Chronicle  Them. 

CHAPTEB  II.— "BIRTH,  LINEAGE  AND  BOYHOOD"  46 

Descended  from  Good  Old  Holland  Stock,  His  Ancestors 
Among  the  Earliest  American  Pioneers.  Delicate 
in  Health,  His  Masterful  Spirit  Wins  for  Him  a 
Stalwart  Frame.  Early  Develops  the  Qualities  of  a 
Leader. 

CHAPTEB  III.-COLLEGE  LIFE 57 

Enters  College  at  the  Age  of  Eighteen.  Develops  a 
Taste  for  Hunting  and  Natural  History.  Is  Active 
in  all  College  Sports,  Especially  Wrestling  and 
Boxing.  Graduates  in  1880  with  High  Honors. 
Membership  in  Clubs,  Etc. 

CHAPTEB  IV.— A  NEW  YORK  ASSEMBLYMAN  ....  72 
At  Once  Attracts  Attention  to  Himself  as  an  Uncom 
promising  Foe  to  Machine  Bule  and  a  Friend  of 
Good  Government.  Striking  Promise  of  a  Bemark- 
able  Public  Career.  Not  Even  the  Danger  of 
Bodily  Violence  Could  Deter  Him.  A  Bevelation  to 
the  Bowdies. 


948185 


2  TABLE   OP   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTEE  V.— IN  NATIONAL  AND  CITY  POLITICS  ...  92  , 
Eecognized  as  a  Factor  in  National  Affairs.  A  Leader 
of  Men,  Loyal  to  the  Best  Traditions  of  His  Party, 
but  Intensely  an  American.  Maintaining  a  Splen 
did  Independence.  The  Forlorn  Hope  in  the  Eace 
for  Election  as  Mayor  of  New  York  City. 

CHAPTEE  VI.— EANCHING  IN  THE  BAD  LANDS    ....    109 
Comrade  with  the  Cowboys.     Wins  the  Confidence  and 
Esteem     of     Hunters,     Eanchmen     and     Pioneers. 
1 1  Busting ' '     Bronchos.       Adventures     with     Wild 
Beasts.     Thrilling  Fight  with  a  Grizzly. 

CHAPTEE  VII.— EOOSEVELT  AS  AN  AUTHOR  ....  129  - 
First  Author  to  Become  President.  Beginning  as  Edi 
tor  of  His  College  Paper,  He  Develops  Striking 
Literary  Talent.  Success  of  His  First  Work, 
"Naval  War  of  1812, "  "Winning  of  the  West," 
"The  Strenuous  Life  and  other  Essays,"  "Oliver 
Cromwell."  A  Voluminous  Writer. 

CHAPTEE  VIII.—  HOME  LIFE  AND  EELIGIOUS  TENDENCIES  153 
Eomance  of  His  Boyhood.  In  the  Home  and  Family. 
"All  Children  Should  Have  Just  as  Good  a  Time 
as  They  Possibly  Can."  Holding  to  the  Faith  of 
His  Fathers.  An  American  Citizen  Can  Take  His 
Bible  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  into 
the  Caucus. 

CHAPTEE  IX.— CRUSADE  FOR  THE  MERIT  SYSTEM  .  .  170 
Eoosevelt's  Work  in  the  New  York  Legislature  Bears 
Fruit.  Appointed  Civil  Service  Commissioner  by 
President  Harrison.  Shows  Great  Preparation  for 
the  Work.  Offends  Spoilsmen  of  Both  Parties. 
Ably  Supported  in  the  Senate  and  House. 

CHAPTEE  X.— PURIFYING  CITY  POLITICS 183    % 

Eoosevelt  Appointed  President  of  Police  Board  of  the 
City  of  New  York.  "I  Will  Enforce  the  Law." 
Merit  System  Governs  in  Police  Force.  Sunday 
Closing  Law  Made  Operative.  Attempted  Assas 
sination  by  Dynamite. 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS.  3 

PAGE 

CHAPTEE  XI.— ASSISTANT  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY  .  199 
Eebuilds  the  American  Navy.  Introduces  Target  Prac 
tice  with  Powder  and  Ball.  Active  in  Preparation 
for  War  with  Spain.  Advises  Ordering  Commodore 
Dewey  to  the  China  Station.  Kesigns  for  Active 
Duty  in  the  Field. 

CHAPTEE  XII.— FORMATION  OF  THE  "  EOUGH  EIDERS"  217  c 
Friendship  for  General  Leonard  Wood.  A  Month  Well 
Saved.  Cowboys,  Hunters  and  Clubmen  Eally  to 
His  Standard.  The  Best  Fighting  Material  that 
Ever  Marched  to  the  Field.  Drilling,  Preparing 
and  Embarking.  Landing  on  Cuban  Soil. 

CHAPTEE  XIH.-SERVICE  IN   CUBA 237 

Brigaded  with  the  Forces  of  a  Fighting  Man.  The 
Affair  at  Las  Guasimas,  and  the  Loss  of  Precious 
Lives.  The  Eough  Eiderg  Prove  Their  Heroism  in 
Battle.  From  the  Trenches  to  the  Hospital.  Graves 
in  Alien  Soil.  After  Peace,  the  Eeturn  Home. 

CHAPTEE  XIV.— EETURN  OF  THE  EEGIMENT  ....  263 
The  Eound  Eobin.  Ordered  Back  to  the  United  States. 
Sick,  Wounded  and  Well  on  the  Voyage  Home. 
Landing  of  Eough  Eiders  at  Montauk  Point. 
Angels  of  Mercy  in  the  Hospitals.  Mustered  Out. 
Back  to  the  Old  Life,  where  a  Eough  Eider  May 
Eide. 

CHAPTEE  XV.— GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK 288    * 

Empire  State  Jubilantly  Eewards  Colonel  Eoosevelt  with 
Its  Highest  Office.  Inaugurates  Eeform  in  Every 
Branch  of  the  Public  Service.  Establishes  the 
Principle  of  Street  Franchise  Taxation.  Dewey 
Day  in  New  York. 

CHAPTEE  XVI.-EOOSEVELT  IN  CHICAGO  ...  0  .  308 
Guest  of  Honor  at  the  Hamilton  Club  Appomattox  Day 
Banquet.  Wonderful  Memory  Shown  in  His  Eecog- 
nition  of  Individual  Eough  Eiders.  Characteristic 
Incidents  of  the  Man.  First  Enunciation  of  the 
Gospel  of  a  Strenuous  Life. 


4  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XVII.— HONORS  THRUST  UPON  HIM  ...  336 
Nominated  for  Vice-President  Against  His  Emphatic 
Protest.  Sinks  Personal  Preference  at  the  Call  of 
Public  Duty.  Striking  Figure  in  the  Campaign. 
Presiding  Over  the  Senate.  Seeks  Recreation  in  a 
Post-election  Hunt  for  Mountain  Lions. 

CHAPTER  XVIII.— ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  Mo 

KINLEY 354 

Leon  Czolgosz  Strikes  Down  the  Head  of  the  Nation. 
Country  Plunged  in  Sorrow.  Hope  and  Despair 
Alternate.  " Nearer,  My  God,  To  Thee."  End  of 
a  Noble  Life.  The  Republic  Pauses  While  Its 
President  is  Laid  to  Rest. 

CHAPTER  XIX.— SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY  ...  369 
Theodore  Roosevelt  Takes  Oath  of  Office.  Informed  of 
His  Chief's  Death  While  Hunting  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks.  Solemn  Scenes  at  the  Administration  of  the 
Sublime  Obligation.  Declares  He  Will  Carry  Out 
McKinley's  Policy. 

CHAPTER  XX.— CHIEF  EXECUTIVE  OF  THE  NATION  .  .  379 
President  Roosevelt  Takes  the  Helm  of  Government  in 
Washington.  First  Official  Act.  Aims  to  Break  Up 
Solid  South  by  New  Methods.  Summons  Booker  T. 
Washington  to  a  Conference.  Appoints  Reform 
Democrats  to  Office.  Friend  to  Labor. 

CHAPTER  XXL— THE  FUTURE 394 

What  May  Reasonably  Be  Expected  from  Such  a  Presi 
dent  of  Such  a  Nation.  Believing  in  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  and  American  Control  of  the  Canal  at  the 
Isthmus,  in  Reciprocity  and  Expansion,  Mr.  Roose 
velt  Is  Strong,  Upright,  Honest  and  Aggressive,  and 
Implicitly  Trusted  by  a  United  People.  America »s 
Golden  Era. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Theodore  Boosevelt,  President  of  the  United  States    .    . 

Frontispiece 

Mr.  Boosevelt 's  Residence  at  Oyster  Bay 40 

Boom  in  Mr.  Boosevelt 's  House  at  Oyster  Bay    ....  48 
President  Boosevelt  in  1880,  and  also  at  the  Age  of  Nine 

Years 64 

Starting  for  the  Hunt,  Keystone  Banch 112 

"Busting"   a  Broncho .     .  120 

President    Boosevelt    on    Horseback 144 

President  and  Mrs.  Boosevelt  with  Family 16Q 

Mr.   Boosevelt   at   Home 168 

Mr.  Boosevelt,  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy     .     .     .  208 

Mr.   Boosevelt   in  Bough  Bider  Uniform 224 

Colonel   Boosevelt    as    a   Bough   Bider 232 

Major-General   Joseph  Wheeler 240 

The  Charge  up  San  Juan  Hill 256 

Landing  at  Montauk  Point.     Colonel  Boosevelt  and  Gen 
eral   Joseph   Wheeler 280 

William    McKinley 312 

Colonel  Boosevelt  During  the  Campaign  of  1900     .     .     .  344 

A   Fine    Bobcat 352 

President  Boosevelt  Conferring  with  Senator  Hanna     .     .  356 

Exterior  of  Mr.  Ansley  Wilcox's  Besidence,  at  Buffalo     .  362 

President  Boosevelt  at  the  Martyred  President 's  Casket     .  366 
The  Mountain  Guide  Finds  Mr.  Boosevelt  in  the  Adiron- 

dacks 372 

Library  of  Mr.  Ansley  Wilcox  at  Buffalo 376 

The  White  House,  Washington,  D.  C 384 

Baby    Quentin,    the    Youngest    of    President    Boosevelt 's 

Family 392 

The  New  White  House  According  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc 
Kinley 's    Plans 400 

5 


Who    goes   Ihere?    T^r 

Brairj    and    sp'f^   arl^    braWrj    and    hj 
'fWas    for    him    lhal   ihe    qalions   spared 

Gac|-|  lo  ll"|e  years  'Is  rjoblesl  par}; 
fill  from  Ihe  Dulch,,  Ihe  ^aul  and  £e| 
Blossomed  l^e  sou'  °f 


Irooper   and    genlleman 

Lev/el-lidded    Wilh    limes    and 
l~|is    Ihe   Voice    for   a    comrade's    cheer, 

h(is   Ihe    ear   When    lh|e    saber    rings, 
Fjero    shades    of   lh)e    old    days    nrjell 
In    Ihe    auick    pulse    o^    Roose\/ell, 

|-|aqd    lhal's    molded    lo    hill   of    s^ofd  ; 

|-[earl  lhal   eVer    has    laughed    al    fearj 
Yype    and    pallern    of   ciVic    pridej 

Wil   and    grace    of   Ihe    ca\/alier: 
All    lhal   his    falters    prayed    arjd    fell 
^learns    irj    Ihe    glance    of    l^ooseVell, 

Who    goes    Ihere?    /^n    American! 

/V\an    lo    Ihe    core  —  as    men    should    be, 
Lei    hirrj    pass    Ihrough    Ihe    lines    alone, 

Yype    of   Ihe    sons    of   Liberly, 
\-\e(e,    Whjere    his    falhers'    falters    dWell, 
Fjorjor   and    failhj    for    l^ooseVell! 

GRACE   DUFFIE   BOYLAN. 


INTRODUCTION  BY  GENERAL  JOSEPH 
WHEELER. 

It  is  no  flattery  to  say  that  Theodore  Roose 
velt  possesses  to  a  remarkable  degree  the  best 
characteristics  o'f  the  "typical  American/'  He 
is  learned,  cultured,  progressive  and  brave,  an 
athlete,  sportsman,  ranchman,  author,  orator, 
politician,  statesman  and  soldier. 

I  first  knew  this  distinguished  gentleman 
when,  in  April,  1889,  he  appeared  in  Washington 
as  one  of  the  three  commissioners  of  Civil  Serv 
ice. 

He  came  with  the  high  reputation  acquired  as 
leader  in  the  New  York  Assembly  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three,  as  a  prominent  champion  of  reform 
and  opponent  of  Elaine  at  the  Chicago  conven 
tion  when  only  twenty-five;  as  a  candidate  for 
mayor  of  New  York  city  when  barely  twenty- 
eight,  receiving  as  he  did  a  larger  percentage  of 
votes  than  had  ever  before  been  polled  by  a 
Republican  candidate,  and  as  an  author  with 


10  THEODOBE   ROOSEVELT. 

more  distinction  than  is  usually  enjoyed  by  a 
man  then  only  thirty  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  solicited  to  accept  an 
appointment  as  Civil  Service  Commissioner  on 
account  of  his  long  and  relentless  warfare  on 
political  jobbery  and  corruption.  He  was  a  civil 
service  reformer  and  an  intense  opponent  of  the 
spoils  system.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  with 
vigor  and  raised  the  office  to  one  of  very  great 
importance,  and  by  his  persistent  efforts  con 
stantly  enlarged  and  increased  the  power  and 
usefulness  of  the  commission,  never  losing  an 
opportunity  to  press  upon  President  Harrison 
extensions  and  improvements  which  he  regarded 
as  advisable  and  important. 

He  seemed  to  carry  with  him  a  certain  mo 
mentum  in  his  progressive  policy,  and  as  he  him 
self  expressed  it:  " There  is  no  shell  separating 
the  commission  from  the  outer  world.  All  is  per 
fectly  open."  His  policy  and  administration  of 
the  commission  was  often  opposed  and  severely 
criticised  by  both  his  own  and  the  opposing 
party,  but  in  every  case  he  promptly  took  the 
public  into  his  confidence,  gave  all  the  facts  to  the 
press,  and  invited  the  most  searching  inquiry. 
This  open,  honest  candor  acquired  the  confidence 


INTKODTJCTIOST.  11 

of  the  country  and  kept  him  in  the  public  eye 
during  his  entire  six  years  of  this  duty. 

When  Mr.  Cleveland  became  President, 
Roosevelt  insisted  upon  a  revision  of  the  Civil 
Service  rules,  and  procured  an  order  from  the 
Democratic  President  which  added  some  thirty 
thousand  positions  to  the  classified  service,  bring 
ing  the  total  number  of  offices  under  the  control 
of  the  commission  up  to  85,135. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  devoted  himself  to  showing 
Southern  Congressmen  (substantially  all  Demo 
crats)  that  they  were  receiving  a  full  share  of 
the  public  patronage.  I  had  many  talks  with 
him  upon  this  subject,  and  he  took  especial  pains 
to  go  over  the  records  and  point  out  the  localities 
from  which  the  appointees  came,  and  he  often 
had  much  to  say  regarding  his  Southern  ances 
try,  showing  in  a  way  which  he  could  not  hide 
that  his  Southern  relations  and  the  Southern 
people  in  general  had  a  very  warm  place  in  his 
big  heart. 

Feeling  that  he  had  accomplished  the  pur 
pose  for  which  he  accepted  duty  in  the  Civil 
Service,  he,  after  more  than  six  years  of  labor, 
resigned  to  take  upon  himself  the  burden  of  duty 
as  Police  Commissioner  in  the  city  of  New  York. 


12  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

When  in  the  legislative  assembly  he  had  been 
chairman  of  a  committee  which  investigated  the 
New  York  Police  Department.  His  report  showed 
that  he  had  very  decided  views  upon  this  sub 
ject,  and  his  study  of  the  subject  while  in  the 
legislature  in  a  measure  prepared  him  for  this 
new  duty. 

He  was  nothing  unless  vigorous  and  forceful. 
Many  were  loud  in  praise,  but  he  seemed  to  heed 
them  not.  To  those  who  denounced  him,  he  said : 
i  i  I  am  placed  here  to  enforce  the  law  as  I  find  it. 
I  shall  enforce  it.  If  you  don't  like  the  law, 
repeal  it. ' ' 

I  met  Mr.  Roosevelt  at  his  office,  and  he 
showed  the  same  enthusiastic  devotion,  and  de 
lighted  to  explain  his  efforts  toward  reform  and 
good,  honest  government. 

When  Mr.  McKinley  became  President  he 
selected  Mr.  Eoosevelt  as  his  Assistant  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.  Here  was  a  new  field  of  operations 
for  his  tireless  energies.  He  had  already  written 
a  history  of  the  navy  of  the  United  States,  and 
this  had  required  a  research  into  the  archives  at 
Washington,  and  into  the  reports  of  the  British 
and  French  officers  and  the  logs  of  British  and 
French  ships,  all  of  which  was  an  excellent  edu- 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


cation  for  the  high  position  to  which  he  was  so 
suddenly  called. 

Mr.  Koosevelt  in  this  history  of  our  navy 
says :  ' '  There  were  no  better  seamen  in  the  world 
than  the  American  Jack ;  he  had  been  bred  to  his 
work  from  infancy,  and  had  been  off  in  a  fishing 
dory  almost  as  soon  as  he  could  walk.  When 
he  grew  older  he  shipped  as  a  merchantman,  or 
whaler,  and  in  warlike  times,  when  our  merchant 
marine  was  compelled  to  rely  pretty  much  on 
itself  for  protection,  each  craft  had  to  be  handled 
well ;  all  that  were  not  were  soon  weeded  out  by  a 
process  of  natural  selection  of  which  the  agents 
were  French  picaroons,  Spanish  buccaneers,  and 
Malay  pirates.  It  was  a  rough  school,  but  it 
taught  Jack  to  be  both  skilful  and  self-reliant." 

In  June,  1897,  in  addressing  the  naval  cadets 
he  repeated  Washington's  warning :  ' '  To  be  pre 
pared  for  war  is  the  most  effectual  means  to  pro 
mote  peace,"  and  with  great  emphasis  he  uttered 
these  words : 

"All  the  great  masterful  races  have  been 
fighting  races.  Cowardice  in  a  race,  as  in  an 
individual,  is  the  unpardonable  sin." 

About  this  time,  a  year  before  our  clash  of 
arms  with  Spain,  he  said :  1 1  The  enemies  we  may 


14  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

have  to  face  will  come  from  over  the  sea;  they 
may  come  from  Europe,  or  they  may  come  from 
Asia.  Events  move  fast  in  the  West ;  but  this 
generation  has  been  forced  to  see  that  they  move 
even  faster  in  the  oldest  East.  Our  interests  are 
as  great  in  the  Pacific  as  in  the  Atlantic,  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  as  in  the  West  Indies.  Merely 
for  the  protection  of  our  own  shores,  we  need  a 
great  navy;  and  what  is  more,  we  need  it  to 
protect  our  interests  in  the  islands  from  which 
it  is  possible  to  command  our  shores  and  to  pro 
tect  our  commerce  on  the  high  seas. ' ' 

He  early  became  impressed  that  war  with 
Spain  was  inevitable,  and  to  prepare  for  it  he 
infused  life,  vigor,  snap  and  energy  into  every 
branch  of  the  service. 

He  hastened  the  work  upon  new  ships  and 
repairs  on  old  ones.  He  encouraged  recruiting 
the  navy  to  its  full  strength  and  increased  the 
supply  of  coal  at  every  station.  He  personally 
inspected  the  war- vessels  and  neglected  nothing 
which  would  add  to  naval  efficiency. 

Senator  Cushman  K.  Davis  said : 

"If  it  had  not  been  for  Roosevelt  we  would 
not  have  been  able  to  strike  the  blow  that  we  did 
at  Manila.  It  needed  just  Roosevelt's  energy 
and  promptness. ' ' 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

The  records  of  the  Department,  February  25, 
1898,  show  this  confidential  cablegram  from 
Roosevelt  to  Commodore  Dewey:  "  Order  the 
squadron,  except  Monocacy,  to  Hong-Kong. 
Keep  full  of  coal.  In  the  event  of  declaration  of 
war  with  Spain  your  duty  will  be  to  see  that 
the  Spanish  squadron  does  not  leave  the  Asiatic 
coast,  and  then  offensive  operations  in  Philip 
pine  Islands.  Keep  Olympia  until  further 
orders. ' ' 

I  saw  Mr.  Roosevelt  many  times  during  this 
trying  period  and  like  all  others  with  whom  he 
came  into  contact,  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  his 
earnest,  convincing  arguments. 

When  war  was  actually  declared,  he  said : 

' '  My  work  here  is  done.  I  must  get  into  the 
fight  myself. ' ' 

It  would  extend  the  scope  of  this  article  too 
far  for  me  to  more  than  allude  to  the  correspond 
ence  between  our  distinguished  Secretary  Long 
and  Assistant  Secretary  Roosevelt,  in  which  he 
was  urged  to  withhold  his  resignation  and  remain 
in  the  Department  where  he  was  doing  such  val 
uable  service ;  but  he  had  determined  his  course 
of  duty,  and  in  May  we  find  him  with  a  commis 
sion  for  himself  as  lieutenant-colonel,  and  with  a 


16  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

colonel's  commission  for  the  then  almost  un 
known  Dr.  Leonard  Wood,  en  route  to  Texas  to 
raise  what  was  popularly  known  as  Eoosevelt 's 
Regiment  of  Eough  Eiders,  and  officially  as  the 
First  Eegiment  of  United  States  Volunteer  Cav 
alry.  He  only  demanded  good  arms  for  his  men 
and  the  chance  to  get  them  against  the  enemy. 
The  rest  to  be  left  in  his  hands. 

When  it  became  apparent  that  the  troops  at 
Tampa  would  compose  the  first  expedition  of 
active  operations,  Eoosevelt,  then  far  off  in 
Texas,  burdened  the  telegraph  lines  with  dis 
patches  until  orders  reached  him  to  go  with  his 
fine  regiment  and  become  a  part  of  the  cavalry 
division  which  I  commanded  at  that  place. 
Learning  the  hour  of  his  arrival,  I  met  him  with 
staff-officers  at  the  train,  expecting  that  the  regi 
ment  would  need  much  after  their  long  journey. 
Eoosevelt,  Colonel  Wood  and  other  officers  were 
all  in  fine  spirits,  and  assured  me  they  had  every 
thing  and  that  they  would  be  comfortable  in  the 
cars  that  night.  The  next  day  I  put  them  into 
camp,  and  in  an  hour  the  entire  regiment  was 
out  upon  drill. 

It  was  here  that  it  was  my  privilege  to  enjoy 
my  greatest  intimacy  with  this  young  officer. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

This  was  very  close,  as  their  brigade  commander, 
General  Young,  was  at  Lakeland,  thirty  miles 
distant,  with  his  other  two  regiments,  and,  there 
fore,  the  Bough  Eiders  reported  direct  to  me, 
their  division  commander. 

Both  Eoosevelt  and  Wood  urged  me  to  fre 
quent  inspections,  to  be  present  at  their  drills,  to 
examine  into  their  equipment  and  administra 
tion,  and  they  frequently  came  to  me,  generally 
together,  laying  before  me  their  methods  of  drill, 
discipline,  etc.  They  were  anxious  to  be  assured 
if  their  methods  were  the  best,  and  that  they  be 
corrected  if  any  change  or  improvement  could 
be  suggested.  They  had  tactics  and  army  regu 
lations  constantly  in  hand,  and  I  was  surprised 
to  see  how  thoroughly  they  had  become  informed 
upon  all  that  pertained  to  their  duties  as  regi 
mental  commanders. 

June  7  came,  and  with  it  Admiral  Sampson's 
telegram:  "If  ten  thousand  men  were  here,  city 
and  fleet  would  be  ours  within  forty-eight  hours. 
Every  consideration  demands  immediate  army 
movement.  If  delayed,  city  will  be  defended 
more  strongly  by  guns  taken  from  fleet. ' ' 

It  was  in  the  quiet  darkness  of  night  that  an 
officer  of  General  Shafter's  staff  came  to  my  tent 


18  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

with  orders  from  Washington  for  us  to  embark 
at  daylight  the  next  morning  at  Port  Tampa, 
distant  nine  miles  from  our  camp.  Immediately 
all  was  activity.  Eoosevelt  and  Wood  were 
before  me  in  a  few  moments,  received  their 
orders,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  their 
regiment,  with  all  its  equipments,  was  by  the 
side  of  the  railroad,  ready  and  waiting  for  the 
cars.  Soon  after  daylight  Port  Tampa  was 
reached,  and  we  were  soon  on  shipboard,  the 
promptness  with  which  the  Rough  Riders  were 
embarked  being  largely  due  to  the  indomitable 
push  of  the  young  lieutenant-colonel.  The  delay 
at  Port  Tampa  until  June  17  was  caused  by  the 
false  report  that  Spanish  war- vessels  threatened 
the  course  we  were  to  sail. 

On  June  20  we  reached  Daiquiri,  Cuba. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  the  navy,  with 
steam  and  naphtha  launches  towing  large  strings 
of  boats,  commenced  landing  our  troops. 

General  Shafter  put  Lawton's  division  and 
Bates'  brigade  before  us. 

We  felt  this  keenly,  and  knowing  that  the  pur 
pose  was  to  get  ashore  promptly,  we  commenced 
landing  with  our  own  ship's  boats,  rowed  by  our 
men. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

Roosevelt's  energy  and  push  helped  very 
much  in  this  effort,  and  before  night  we  had 
landed  964  officers  and  men  of  the  cavalry  divi 
sion. 

Siboney  is  on  the  ocean  and  is  nine  miles 
nearer  Santiago  than  Daiquiri. 

On  the  22d  General  Lawton  was  ordered  with 
his  division,  about  five  thousand  strong,  to  march 
upon  and  capture  the  enemy  at  Siboney,  so  that 
the  remainder  of  the  troops  and  supplies  could  be 
landed  at  that  place. 

Lawton  reached  Siboney  on  the  23d,  but 
found  that  the  enemy  had  already  evacuated  that 
place  and  had  taken  the  road  toward  Santiago. 

At  noon  on  the  23d  General  Shafter  had  not 
heard  from  Lawton  and  he  ordered  the  com 
mander  of  the  cavalry  division,  with  the  964  men 
of  his  command,  to  proceed  to  Siboney  and  put 
his  advance  close  to  the  enemy. 

The  division  commander  ordered  Young, 
Wood  and  Roosevelt  forward  and  hastened  on  in 
person,  and  finally  found  the  enemy  stationed  on 
the  Santiago  road  between  two  and  three  miles 
from  Siboney.  He  reconnoitered  the  Spanish 
position  and  after  dark  returned  to  Siboney. 
Before  daylight  these  964  dismounted  cavalry- 


20  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

men  were  en  march,  and  at  a  little  after  seven 
they  attacked,  and  after  a  severe  fight  defeated 
a  large  Spanish  force  under  Lieutenant-General 
Linares. 

This  was  Boosevelt's  first  experience  under 
fire,  and  his  superb  conduct  immediately  estab 
lished  him  as  a  brave  and  intrepid  soldier. 

The  official  report  of  the  division  commander 
said:  "The  magnificent  and  brave  work  done 
by  the  regiment,  under  the  lead  of  Colonel  Wood, 
testifies  to  his  courage  and  skill.  The  energy  and 
determination  of  this  officer  had  been  marked 
from  the  moment  he  reported  to  me  at  Tampa, 
Florida,  and  I  recommended  him  for  the  consid 
eration  of  the  Government.  I  must  rely  upon  his 
report  to  do  justice  to  his  officers  and  men,  but  I 
desire  personally  to  add  that  all  that  I  have  said 
regarding  Colonel  "Wood  applies  equally  to  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Roosevelt." 

On  July  1,  on  account  of  the  sickness  of  Gen 
eral  Young,  his  brigade  fell  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Wood,  and  the  Eough  Eiders'  regi 
ment  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Roosevelt  dur 
ing  the  San  Juan  battle  and  in  all  the  engage 
ments  which  terminated  in  the  surrender  of  the 
Spanish  army. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

My  endorsement  upon  Colonel  Roosevelt's 
report  contained  these  words:  " Colonel  Roose 
velt  and  his  entire  command  deserve  high  com 
mendation.  ' '  I  also  recommended  and  requested 
that  a  gold  medal  be  awarded  him  for  his  gal 
lantry  at  San  Juan. 

The  conduct  of  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  brave 
and  soldierly.  He  was  always  at  the  front, 
always  active,  always  caring  for  his  men  and 
always  solicitous  in  attending  to  every  duty. 

In  August  we  sailed  together  upon  the  Miami 
for  Montauk  Point.  He  had  become  colonel  of 
the  regiment,  and  his  excellent  discipline  and 
administration  upon  shipboard  deserved  high 
commendation. 

I  saw  much  of  him  on  the  voyage,  which 
lasted  something  over  a  week.  I  many  times 
repeated  that  his  party  would  immediately  seek 
him  as  their  candidate  for  Governor  of  New 
York,  and  that  his  wonderful  civil  career,  sup 
plemented  by  his  short  but  very  brilliant  record 
as  a  soldier,  would  cause  the  American  people  to 
finally  elect  him  to  the  highest  office  within  their 
gift.  This  expression  of  mine  was  published 
very  generally  in  the  papers  just  after  we  landed, 
and  I  think  this  view  was  very  general  among 


22  THEODOBE    ROOSEVELT. 

those  who  had  followed  Colonel  Roosevelt's 
career  from  the  time  he  entered  public  life. 

The  first  prediction  was  verified  three  days 
after  we  landed  by  a  formal  tender  of  the  nomi 
nation  for  Governor. 

His  distinguished  career  in  that  high  position 
is  familiar  to  the  people  of  the  entire  country, 
and  especially  to  those  of  the  Empire  State. 

His  reluctant  consent  to  accept  the  office  of 
Vice-President  is  fresh  in  our  memory. 

The  fearful  tragedy  which  caused  the  death 
of  William  McKinley,  the  most  loved  of  all  our 
Presidents,  is  constantly  before  us.  We  see  it  in 
emblems  of  mourning  everywhere,  in  every  city, 
town  and  hamlet  in  our  land.  We  see  it  in  the 
sad  faces  of  our  people  in  all  walks  of  life. 

We  realize  the  extent  of  our  country's  loss 
when  we  contemplate  the  perfect  public,  as  well 
as  private,  life  of  this  great  and  good  man. 

We  appreciate  it  also  when  we  see  the  pros 
perity  of  our  country  during  all  the  period  of  his 
administration,  and  especially  in  the  preserva 
tion  of  our  prestige  as  a  nation  and  the  glorious 
record  of  our  arms  on  both  the  land  and  sea. 
And  in  all  the  nation's  sadness  no  one  has  felt 
the  bereavement  more  than  he  who  must  bear  the 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

burdens  and  responsibilities  which,  in  a  sudden 
and  unexpected  moment,  have  been  thrust  upon 
him.  That  this  new  duty  will  be  honestly,  wisely 
and  well  performed  those  who  know  Theodore 
Roosevelt  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt,  and  I 
believe  that  the  dying  moments  of  our  martyred 
President  were  made  more  tranquil  by  the 
thought  that  his  efforts  for  the  glory,  prosperity 
and  happiness  of  our  country  would  be  continued 
by  his  successor  with  wisdom,  courage  and  deter 
mination. 


A    TYPICAL   AMERICAN. 


Roosevelt  represents  the  entire  American 
nation.  He  is  the  first  President  of  the  New 
United  States.  His  antecedents  make  him  the 
typical  American.  He  inherited  no  prejudices. 
He  owes  party  allegiance  to  no  political  machine. 
A  hero  before  the  election,  he  is  now  an  inspira 
tion  to  every  American  boy.  Though  born  in 
New  York,  the  entire  country  claims  him.  His 
mother  was  from  Georgia,  and  he  himself  was  a 
cowboy  in  the  West.  One  of  his  uncles  was  a 
commodore  in  the  Confederate  navy,  and  he 
recently  remarked  that  more  than  half  of  the 
Rough  Riders  were  the  sons  of  men  who  fought 
in  the  army  of  the  South.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  man  so  ' i  geographically  universal. ' '  For 
the  first  time  in  our  history  a  man  of  letters  is 
at  the  head  of  the  Government.  Nearly  all  of 
our  Presidents  have  been  strong  and  graceful 
writers  on  economic  subjects— some  of  them 
have  made  startling  phrases  and  have  dealt  in 


25 


26  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

periods  that  would  put  to  shame  the  literary 
hack;  but  Roosevelt  is  an  all-round  literary 
worker.  He  is  prepared  to  write  anything,  on  any 
subject— adventure,  philosophy,  international 
law.  His  education  is  thorough;  he  represents 
the  college  student  and  the  college  athlete.  He 
is  of  the  new  and  the  old.  While  he  reveres  the 
traditions  of  his  grandfather,  he  recognizes  the 
force  of  his  brother.  With  him  old  things  have 
become  new.  He  is  the  epitome  of  David's 
strength.  Old  things  may  have  been  wise  for 
that  day,  but  new  things  represent  our  power 
this  day.  If  the  man  who  is  struggling  on  the 
hill-side  will  only  stop  to  think  of  this  fact  it 
may  be  of  advantage  to  him.  We  revere  the 
past,  but  tradition  may  have  hampered  us. 
America,  the  most  progressive  of  nations,  may 
have  been  hampered  by  tradition. 

For  their  day  our  forefathers  were  unques 
tionably  wise.  To  them  the  Constitution  was  a 
dead-set  faith.  At  that  time  man's  vision 
extended  only  to  the  limit  bordering  his  lands. 
Beyond  that  was  dark  experiment.  Shrinking 
within  the  limits  of  a  narrow  shell,  "hands  off" 
was  the  nation's  watchword.  Broad-minded 
Jeffersonism  did  not  comprehend  the  entire 


A    TYPICAL    AMERICAN. 


27 


world.  It  did  not  gather  the  spreading  force  of 
geography.  Isolation  was  his  watchword  and 
the  national  cry  of  his  successors.  ' '  Hands  off ' ' 
they  said,  and  our  Congressmen  were  on  that 
platform  elected.  Europe  smiled,  and  we  con 
tented  ourselves  with  what  they  condemned  as 
our  narrowness. 

Years  passed,  and  we  had  a  merciless  war. 
Premiers  said,  "I  told  you  so."    There  was  no 
hope  for  America.    With  the  hot  wax  of  impul 
siveness,  she  had  sealed  the  letter  of  her  doom. 
Germany,  believing  in  the  failure  of  all  republics, 
gathered  herself  into  a  sardonic  laugh.     Eng 
land,  though  a  monarchy— the  father,  the  mother 
of  all  modern  republics— cried  "Long  live  the 
queen, "  and  yet  mourned  for  us.    Our  war  came 
to  an  end.     In  one  part  of  the  country  there 
seemed  to  be  chaos.    Senators  said,  "We  have 
failed."    But  out  of  that  chaos  came  order.    Up 
arose  leaders  of  men  who  declared  that  secession 
had  been  a  failure.     They  joined  the  Govern 
ment  without  having  changed  their  principle  of 
the  rights  of  States.    Upon  that  platform  they 
were  elected,  and  the  world  of  mankind  was 
forced  to  declare  that  history  had  been  baffled. 
The  old  order  of  things,  the  kings  and  queens, 


THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

said  they,  were  sleeping.  Soon  they  will  wake 
up.  Rome  taught  us  that  such  a  thing  could  not 
be.  Ancient  Egypt  declared  its  failure.  Modern 
France  laughs  with  us.  The  French  revolution 
was  a  failure.  Therefore  this  thing  cannot 
stand.  They  called  it  a  thing.  They  had  lost 
sight  of  immortality.  The  assassin  lifted  his 
weapon  as  if  to  prove  that  monarchy  was  the 
only  enduring  form  of  government.  Presidents 
sank  down  to  die,  but  the  Government  still  lived. 
Office  may  be  ephemeral,  but  the  people  are  eter 
nal.  The  crown  did  not  know  this.  They  said 
that  the  scepter  was  God's  word.  We  have 
taught  the  world  that  this  is  wrong.  The  people 
are  immortal.  The  death  of  McKinley  proved 
the  ever-enduring  life  of  his  nation.  Before  the 
day  of  enlightenment  such  a  death  would  have 
meant  chaos.  The  education  of  man  means  the 
eternal  element  of  society.  Presidents  die;  the 
country  lives. 

But  confidence  is  the  essence  of  prosperity. 
Without  confidence  we  are  unsteady  of  gaze,  fix 
ing  cross-eyes  upon  uncertainty.  With  confi 
dence  we  are  strong,  and  Roosevelt  gives  us 
strength.  They  said  that  he  was  lacking  in  dig 
nity  and  he  became  the  most  dignified  of  men. 


A    TYPICAL    AMERICAN.  29 

They  said  that  he  might  not  be  executive,  and 
one  word  put  the  nation  at  rest.    They  acknowl 
edged  that  he  was  brave,  but  they  said  that 
bravery  was  not  wisdom.    The  bravest  were  the 
wisest  men  of  Eome.     Bravery,  sobered  with 
responsibility,  is  the  most  conservative  ruler. 
They  did  not  know  this  at  first  but  they  know  it 
now.    Eoosevelt  is  a  patriot,  and  of  such  is  the 
safe  statesman  composed.  Men  who  stood  closest 
to  him  were  astonished.    He  surprised  his  most 
intimate   friends.     They  had   not   taken   into 
account  his  devoted  study  of  governments.    Now 
they  wonder  at  our  short-sightedness.  While  rid 
ing  in  a  carriage  toward  the  McKinley  house, 
Eoosevelt    pointed    to    a    large    building    and 
remarked:   " There  is  the  future  President  for 
all  time."    It  was  a  public  school.    Some  of  the 
men  who  were  with  him  did  not  understand  this, 
but  some  of  them  did ;  and  one  man,  a  Congress 
man,  reached  over  and  took  his  hand.    To  Eoose 
velt  old  men  came  and  centered  their  hope. 
They  felt  that  American  institutions  were  safe. 
In  him  they  knew  was  centered  the  entire  coun 
try.    At  Canton  were  men  of  every  party.    For 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  States  there 
was  no  political  creed.     America  was  united 


30  THEODORE    KOOSEVELT. 

against  sorrow— against  the  world.  At  the  steps 
of  the  house  of  woe  the  new  President  spoke 
words  which  must  appeal  to  every  American. 
"  Boys  "—he  did  not  say  "  gentlemen,"  he  did 
not  say  "fellow  citizens,"  he  said  "boys,"  for 
his  mind  had  flown  back  to  a  time  when  he  was 
fighting  for  his  country— "Boys,  we  must  stand 
together.  We  have  met  at  the  bier  of  one  whom 
we  loved.  He  was  the  product  of  the  entire  coun 
try.  We  are  the  product  of  all  the  country.  He 
loved  us  and  we  loved  him.  Among  you  I  see 
men  from  Texas  and  men  from  Maine.  Is  it  not 
a  glory  to  know  that  we  are  all  as  one!  They 
predicted  that  this  could  not  be.  We  have  shown 
them  their  error.  I  have  one  word  to  pledge  you 
—that  we  are  all  of  us  American  citizens.  My 
life  and  my  work  belong  to  you.  I  am  not  your 
ruler  but  your  friend  in  council.  I  ask  no  higher 
honor  than  to  serve  my  country.  The  North  and 
the  South  have  passed  away,  and  we  have  become 
as  one.  These  soldiers  that  you  see  are  but  the 
expressive  force  of  a  State— Ohio.  They  are  the 
sons  of  the  men  who  followed  our  dead  chieftain 
to  the  war.  Some  of  them  were  on  the  other  side. 
Let  us  honor  them,  for  they  are  representative 
of  our  country.  Among  you  occasionally  I  catch 


A    TYPICAL    AMERICAN.  31 

the  glimpse  of  a  countenance  which  I  saw  in  bat 
tle—at  a  time  when  we  charged  up  a  hill.  And 
to  you  I  would  extend  my  love  and  my  sympathy. 
The  nation  has  called  upon  us  to  do  our  duty. 
Let  us  do  it.  To  public  life  there  is  due  a  sort  of 
compliance.  Let  us  conform;  but  at  the  same 
time  let  us  remember  that  to  you  and  your  brav 
ery  is  due  our  greatness  to-day." 

The  mournful  dirge  began  and  the  President 
stood  upon  the  steps.  Sorrow  en  masse  had 
gathered  in  the  street.  The  President  had 
nothing  more  to  say.  He  had  said  enough.  He 
had  told  us  all  what  was  needed.  We  knew  that 
McKinley  was  dead;  those  who  stood  there  in 
that  throng  told  us  that.  We  knew  that  our  coun 
try  was  living.  And  that  is  the  reason  that  those 
who  followed  McKinley  to  the  tomb  knew  that 
the  flag  could  not  be  pulled  down.  We  were  there 
to  bury  a  tender  sentiment;  we  were  there  to 
shed  the  tears  of  a  nation— to  weep  with  a 
devoted  wife  and  mother— but  to  stand  firm  with 
a  man  who  himself  stood  firm  with  a  nation. 

And  this  book  gives  the  life  of  that  man. 
Never  before  has  it  been  written.  And  to  it  do 
I  gladly  subscribe  my  name. 

OPIE  READ. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE  -—  MARKED  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MAN  — 
A  PRODUCT  OF  THE  AGE  —  BLOOD  OF  HEROES  IN  HIS  VEINS  — 
IN  AN  AGE  OF  MATERIALISM  HE  STANDS  AS  THE  GREAT 
EXPONENT  OF  THE  VIRTUES  — HIS  FIRST  HISTORICAL  WORK  — 
AMBITIOUS  TO  BO  DEEDS  RATHER  THAN  CHRONICLE  THEM. 

Restless  as  the  sea  his  forefathers  sailed  to 
reach  the  new  world;  active  as  the  soil  that 
answered  to  the  tickling  of  their  hoes  with  bursts 
of  golden  laughter ;  fearless  as  the  native  chiefs 
who  fought  European  encroachment  on  their 
domains  with  a  savage  valor  worthy  of  the 
ancient  Greeks;  patient  as  the  mothers  who 
reared  children  in  a  wilderness  where  danger 
and  death  lurked  on  every  hand,  and  with  a  soul 
as  broadly  sympathetic  as  the  missionaries  who 
led  the  way  for  the  pioneer  into  the  new  world, 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  twenty-sixth  President 
of  the  United  States,  stands  to-day  the  embodi 
ment  of  Americanism.  He  is  as  much  a  product 
of  the  laws  underlying  all  life  as  is  the  air  we 


34  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

breathe  or  the  country  we  inhabit ;  as  much  the 
result  of  the  combination  of  harmonious  forces 
as  the  battle-ship  Brooklyn  or  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States. 

Born  to  ease  and  luxury,  President  Eoosevelt 
has  lived  a  life  of  constant  toil  and  struggle; 
heir  to  a  delicate  body  his  indomitable  will  has 
transformed  it  to  a  sinewy  frame,  wherein  his 
active  mind,  bent  on  the  conquest  of  evil,  is  sup 
plied  with  an  unfailing  host  ready  at  all  times  to 
fight  for  his  ideals. 

What  these  ideals  are  he  has  made  plainly 
apparent.  The  one  trait  of  his  character  that 
stands  out  preeminent  above  all  others  is  abso 
lute  frankness.  In  all  his  public  life  he  has  made 
no  secret  of  his  plans  for  the  general  good.  Sin 
cerity  is  the  keynote  of  his  nature.  Having  sat 
isfied  himself  as  to  the  truth  of  any  matter  he 
immediately  takes  the  whole  country  into  his 
confidence,  relying  on  the  good  sense  of  the  peo 
ple  for  support  in  his  battle  for  its  establishment. 
As  his  life's  motto  he  seems  to  have  taken  that 
comprehensive  ritual  of  a  brave  man's  creed 
enunciated  by  Shakespeare:  "Beware  of  en 
trance  to  a  quarrel ;  but,  being  in,  bear't  that  the 
opposer  may  beware  of  thee. ' '  He  must  be  sure 


A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  35 

+ 

of  his  ground  before  he  espouses  any  cause,  but 
once  he  has  made  the  decision  there  is  no  thought 
of  surrender.  He  is  as  great  in  defeat  as  in  vic 
tory,  because  he  fights  for  the  truth  in  all  its 
nakedness,  and,  while  he  may  not  succeed  in  his 
undertaking,  the  principle  for  which  he  battles 
remains  impregnable. 

Among  all  the  famous  characters  that  make 
American  history  a  continuous  story  of  romance 
and  adventure,  none  can  compare  with  Theodore 
Roosevelt  in  purposeful  action.  From  the 
day  he  first  entered  Harvard  College  to  the  day 
he  stood  up  in  Buffalo  and,  with  eyes  dim  from 
grief,  declared  his  intention  of  carrying  out  the 
policy  of  his  murdered  chief,  he  seems  never  to 
have  rested.  In  college  he  was  not  only  a  dili 
gent  student,  but  the  leader  in  all  manly  sports 
and  pastimes.  He  wrestled  and  boxed,  ran  races 
and  played  football  with  the  same  tense  earnest 
ness  that  he  gave  to  his  studies.  He  could  never 
bear  to  remain  in  second  place  in  any  adventure, 
and  had  his  full  share  in  the  gay  rout  that  keeps 
alive  the  humanity  of  young  men  getting  the 
foundations  of  an  education. 

No  sooner  was  he  out  of  college  than  he 
plunged  into  active  work.  The  son  of  wealthy 


36  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

parents,  lie  might  have  lived  a  life  of  idle  lux 
ury,  letting  his  less  fortunate  fellows  get  on  as 
best  they  could.  The  path  was  well  beaten  before 
him.  Four  generations  of  economy  and  thrift 
had  placed  him  and  all  those  with  whom  he  was 
on  intimate  terms,  beyond  the  need  of  toil,  and 
the  rosy  gate  of  pleasure  stood  open  before  him. 
But  the  ways  of  the  drawling  and  effeminate 
imitators  of  foreign  degeneracy  were  as  impos 
sible  to  him  as  the  ways  of  a  trained  ape  would 
be  to  a  royal  Bengal  tiger.  He  was  the  owner  of 
a  spirit  that  would  not  let  him  rest.  His  whole 
being  demanded  action,  and  his  reason  would  be 
satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  action  to  some 
good  end.  He  plunged  into  literature  and  in  less 
than  two  years  completed  a  most  incisive  work, 
the  "  History  of  the  American  Navy  in  the  War 
of  1812. "  This  work  was  published  before  he 
was  twenty-four  years  old,  but  young  as  the 
author  was  it  bears  the  stamp  of  a  finished  his 
torical  investigator.  For  the  period  which  it 
covers  it  is  looked  upon  in  the  Navy  as  the  final 
word,  and  a  copy  is  kept  in  every  ship's  library. 
But  to  be  simply  a  chronicler  of  noble 
thoughts  and  heroic  deeds  could  not  satisfy  a 
man  of  Theodore  Roosevelt's  fiber.  He  had 


A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  37 

already  gained  a  broad  and  firm  grasp  on  the 
main  threads  of  American  history,  and  the  ambi 
tion  to  be  an  actor  in  the  growth  and  develop 
ment  of  this  great  nation,  even  as  his  fathers  had 
been  before  him,  took  possession  of  him,  and  he 
at  once  became  active  in  the  affairs  of  his  State. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  early  developed  a  liking  for 
politics.    He  had  descended  from  a  long  line  of 
merchants,  but  his  paternal  ancestors  for  four 
generations  had  always  taken  an  active  interest 
in  public  affairs,  and  had  served  their  city  and 
State  as  aldermen,  assemblymen  and  Congress 
men.    But  in  Theodore  Eoosevelt  all  the  ambi 
tions  of  his  race  seem  to  have  crystallized  in  the 
one  thought  of  country.    In  his  philosophy,  to 
be  a  free  man  under  a  free  government  is  the 
nearest    approach   to    earthly   happiness.      He 
became  a  hunter  of  wild  beasts  almost  as  soon 
as  he  was  able  to  sight  a  rifle,  and  took  as  much 
pride  in  the  trophies  of  the  chase  as  any  old 
viking  would  have  done.    The  floors  of  his  house 
at  Oyster  Bay  are  strewn  with  the  skins  of  bears 
and  mountain  lions,  as  well  as  many  of  those  of 
smaller  though  not  less  ferocious  animals,  slain 
by  him  in  their  native  fastnesses.  Horns  of  stag 
and  moose  decorate  the  halls,  and  sea-turtles  are 


38  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  playthings  of  his  children.  He  delights  in 
overcoming  things  worth  while,  just  to  emphasize 
the  supremacy  of  man's  genius.  The  same  domi 
nant  spirit  that  sends  him  alone  through  the 
forest  on  the  trail  of  a  panther  spurs  him  into  the 
thick  of  the  fight  during  a  political  campaign, 
and  keeps  him  there  until  the  reforms  he  prom 
ised  from  the  rostrum  are  achieved  in  legislative 
halls  or  he  is  altogether  overthrown. 

In  his  treatment  of  political  questions  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  methods  exhibit  much  of  the  shrewd 
ness  of  his  merchant  ancestors.  He  believes  in 
honest  goods,  but  not  in  mixing  his  silks  and 
satins  with  the  cheap  prints  in  the  show-window. 
He  believes  in  woolen  as  an  every-day  costume. 
He  can  see  no  hope  in  the  reform  that  has  not  a 
practical  basis.  In  his  essay  on  ' '  Americanism ' ' 
he  says:  " There  are  philosophers  who  assure 
us  that  in  the  future  patriotism  will  be  regarded 
not  as  a  virtue  at  all,  but  merely  as  a  mental 
stage  in  the  journey  toward  a  state  of  feeling 
when  our  patriotism  will  include  the  whole 
human  race  and  all  the  world.  This  may  be  so  ; 
but  the  age  of  which  these  philosophers  speak  is 
still  several  aeons  distant.  In  fact,  philosophers 
of  this  type  are  so  very  far  advanced  that  they 


A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  39 

are  of  no  practical  service  to  the  present  genera 
tion.  It  may  be  that  in  ages  so  remote  that  we 
cannot  now  understand  any  of  the  feelings  of 
those  who  will  dwell  in  them,  patriotism  will  no 
longer  be  regarded  as  a  virtue,  exactly  as  it  may 
be  that  in  those  remote  ages  people  will  look 
down  upon  and  disregard  monogamic  marriage ; 
but  as  things  now  are  and  have  been  for  two  or 
three  thousand  years  past,  and  are  likely  to  be 
for  two  or  three  thousand  years  to  come,  the 
words  'home'  and  l country '  mean  a  great  deal. 
Nor  do  they  show  any  tendency  to  lose  their 
significance.  At  present  treason,  like  adultery, 
ranks  as  one  of  the  worst  of  all  possible  crimes. ' ' 
This  utterance  gives  an  insight  into  one  dis 
tinguishing  characteristic  of  Mr.  Eoosevelt.  He 
states  his  position  with  absolute  frankness.  The 
dream  of  a  millennium  is  nothing  to  him  unless 
you  can  prove  that  it  is  practical  and  can  be 
brought  about  at  once.  "Let  us  get  hold  of 
things  as  they  are,"  is  his  motto,  "and  when  we 
have  them  straightened  out  we  will  try  some 
thing  else.  Let  us  stick  close  to  the  thought  that 
we  are  Americans,  first,  last  and  all  the  time. 
We  may  not  be  so  polished  as  our  neighbors 
across  seas,  but  we  have  certainly  as  good  timber 


40  THEODORE    KOOSEVELT. 

in  our  construction  and  can  never  be  so  great,  or 
useful,  or  happy  in  any  other  country  as  we  can 
in  our  own."  In  the  same  essay  quoted  above 
he  says :  ' i  One  may  fall  very  far  short  of  treason 
and  yet  be  an  undesirable  citizen  in  the  com 
munity.  The  man  who  becomes  Europeanized, 
who  loses  his  power  of  doing  good  work  on  this 
side  of  the  water,  and  who  loses  his  love  for  his 
native  land,  is  not  a  traitor ;  but  he  is  a  silly  and 
undesirable  citizen.  He  is  as  emphatically  a 
noxious  element  in  our  body  politic  as  is  the  man 
who  comes  here  from  abroad  and  remains  a  for 
eigner.  Nothing  will  more  quickly  disqualify  a 
man  from  doing  good  work  in  the  world  than  the 
acquirement  of  that  flaccid  habit  of  mind  which 
its  possessors  style  cosmopolitan." 

That  Mr.  Koosevelt  is  didactic  to  a  degree 
one  must  admit ;  but  that  he  is  here  expressing 
his  actual  beliefs  cannot  be  questioned.  That  is 
one  of  the  things  even  his  enemies  admire.  His 
words  are  an  utterance  of  himself,  and  whether 
they  be  true  or  false  in  themselves,  they  are  true 
to  him.  It  is  complimentary  to  his  judgment  that 
while  he  has  been  speaking  and  writing  in  this 
vein  for  more  than  twenty  years  he  has  never  yet 
had  to  recede  from  his  position,  although  he  has 


A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  41 

often  been  worsted  in  battles  for  his  ideals.  But 
whether  he  wins  or  loses,  he  fights  on.  It  has 
mattered  not  to  him  whether  the  foe  was  the 
fierce  cougar  of  the  Bockies,  the  fetish-maddened 
Indians  of  the  Bad  Lands,  the  corrupt  officials  of 
a  municipality  or  commonwealth,  or  the  Spanish 
oppressors  of  Cuba ;  once  he  was  arrayed  against 
them  there  was  no  talk  of  quarter.  Fortunately 
for  him  he  has  generally  been  on  the  winning 
side.  In  his  physical  encounters  this  has  been 
almost  invariably  the  case.  On  the  trail,  in  the 
forest,  and  in  camp  and  field  his  adherents  have 
always  proved  faithful.  Although  an  aristocrat 
by  birth  and  education,  he  has  the  true  spirit  of 
camaraderie,  and  generally  makes  firm  friends  of 
his  associates  in  chivalric  adventure.  But  poli 
ticians  are  of  different  metal.  In  a  political  cam 
paign  there  is  always  the  personal  equation  to  be 
considered,  and  the  "Fighting  Teddy"  of  the 
frontier  who  could  always  depend  upon  his  body 
of  rough  plainsmen  or  daring  mountaineers  to 
stand  by  him  to  the  death,  has  more  than  once 
been  forced  to  "  drink  his  bitter  beer  alone "  at 
the  end  of  an  unsuccessful  attack  upon  the  organ 
ized  forces  of  the  spoils  system  in  his  native 
city  and  State. 


42  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

But  this  sturdy,  laughing,  playing,  working, 
fighting  descendant  of  the  first  Americans  has 
never  recognized  defeat.  If  he  has  suffered 
from  reverses,  the  world  has  never  known  of  it. 
Always  upright,  forceful,  aggressive,  he  has 
never  changed  front  once  in  his  remarkable 
career,  which  has  been  meteoric.  He  had  not 
been  one  year  ouj;  of  college  before  he  was  a 
member  of  the  general  assembly  of  New  York 
State.  During  his  two  years'  term  he  fought 
every  attempt  of  his  colleagues  to  wrong  the 
people  in  any  way.  At  first  they  laughed  at  him. 
What  did  this  student,  fresh  from  the  walls  of 
a  university,  know  of  politics ;  he  would  soon  be 
glad  to  lay  aside  his  ideas  of  purity  in  govern 
ment  and  adopt  a  less  arduous  way  to  the  favor 
of  the  people.  But  he  disappointed  them,  and 
his  opposition  was  so  constant  and  hearty  that 
they  were  at  last  obliged  to  yield  to  him  in  many 
things.  During  his  term  he  secured  the  passage 
of  the  civil  service  law  in  New  York,  a  measure 
that  has  been  the  sword  and  shield  of  all  those 
who  since  have  been  engaged  in  the  work  of 
purifying  the  politics  of  the  State. 

Following  his  retirement  from  the  assembly 
he  became  chairman  of  the  New  York  delegation 


A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  43 

to  the  Republican  National  Convention.  In 
national  politics  lie  was  as  uncompromising  as  he 
had  been  in  the  State.  He  demanded  that  every 
thing  should  be  open  and  above  board.  He 
believed  in  strict  adherence  to  party,  but  he 
believed  the  party  should  be  worthy  of  that 
fealty.  He  wrote  articles  for  the  magazines, 
made  speeches  before  clubs  and  societies  in  all 
parts  of  the  city,  became  a  ranchman  in  the  Bad 
Lands,  ran  for  Mayor  of  New  York  city,  was  for 
six  years  Civil  Service  Commissioner  under 
President  Harrison  and  President  of  the  Police 
Board  of  New  York  city  from  1895  to  1897. 
Upon  the  election  of  McKinley  he  was  appointed 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  carried  his 
activities  into  the  duties  of  the  office  in  such  a 
way  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  House  and 
Senate. 

Then  came  the  sinking  of  the  Maine  in  the 
harbor  of  Havana,  and  there  broke  upon  Wash 
ington  a  wave  of  demand  for  war  that  was  irre 
sistible.  The  fiery  spirit  of  Eoosevelt  led  him 
at  once  to  resign  his  office  and  seek  active  duty  in 
the  field.  Wisely  selecting  for  his  assistant  an 
old  friend,  Dr.  Wood,  who  was  a  military  man, 
he  proposed  the  formation  of  that  unique  regi- 


44  THEODOKE    EOOSEVELT. 

ment  of  cavalry  which  has  since  become  famous 
as  the  "  Rough  Eiders, "  and  at  Las  Guasimas 
and  San  Juan  hill  won  for  himself  and  his  fol 
lowers  an  enviable  place  in  history.  His  military 
career  was  marked  by  the  same  dash,  the  same 
energy,  the  same  demand  for  justice,  the  same 
comradeship  that  have  distinguished  him  from 
childhood.  He  ate  and  slept  with  his  men,  and 
when  the  Government  failed  to  furnish  supplies 
at  Santiago  he  had  money  cabled  him  and  fed 
his  half -starved  regiment  of  American  Gascons 
at  his  own  expense. 

He  came  back  from  Cuba  to  meet  with  an 
ovation  in  New  York  and  was  almost  immediately 
elected  Governor  of  that  State.  His  acts  in  this 
office  will  be  recorded  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
His  nomination  and  election  to  the  Vice-Presi 
dency  and  his  unlooked-for  and  tragic  elevation 
to  the  Presidency  followed  swiftly.  Amid  the 
tears  of  grief  for  his  predecessor  he  quietly  took 
the  oath  of  office  and  on  September  14  he  became 
President  of  the  United  States. 

This  in  brief  is  the  record  of  the  man  Roose 
velt.  He  is  now  something  more.  In  his  person 
is  embodied  the  will  of  the  whole  people.  He  is 
no  longer  a  partisan  fighting  for  the  tenets  of 


A    TYPICAL  AMERICAN.  45 

party ;  lie  is  no  longer  a  citizen  representing  only 
himself  in  the  body  politic.  He  is  the  head  and 
front  of  all  citizenship,  the  repository  of  the 
hopes  and  fears  and  aspirations  of  eighty  mil 
lions  of  people,  the  first  citizen  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 


CHAPTER    II. 

BIRTH,    LINEAGE    AND    BOYHOOD. 

DESCENDED  FROM  GOOD  OLD  HOLLAND  STOCK,  HIS  ANCESTORS 
AMONG  THE  EARLIEST  AMERICAN  PIONEERS  —  DELICATE  IN 
HEALTH,  HIS  MASTERFUL  SPIRIT  WINS  FOR  HIM  A  STALWART 
FRAME  —  EARLY  DEVELOPS  THE  QUALITIES  OF  A  LEADER. 

Over  east  of  Broadway,  east  of  Fourth  ave 
nue,  and  extending  from  Tenth  as  far  north  as 
Twenty-third  street,  was  formerly  the  aristo 
cratic  portion  of  New  York  city.  Men  of  fortune 
lived  there,  and  built  for  themselves  homes  of  a 
certain  old-fashioned  and  substantial  style  which 
is  a  comfort  to  look  upon  even  yet.  In  that  quar 
ter  little  of  the  change  that  the  rest  of  the  city 
knows  has  intruded.  The  fashionable  families, 
and  those  of  the  rich,  have  moved  farther  up 
town ;  but  the  good  old  houses  remain,  and  they 
are  still  tenanted,  for  the  most  part,  with  a  pop 
ulation  as  respectable,  if  less  modest,  than  the 
original  inhabitants  of  the  quarter. 

It  was  tfie  region  which  old  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant  's  descendants  chose  for  their  homes ;  and 

46 


BIRTH,    LINEAGE,    BOYHOOD.  47 

their  church  and  their  park  still  remain  unmo 
lested  by  the  modern  tyranny  of  change. 

In  that  substantial  and  presentable  part  of 
the  city  Theodore  Eoosevelt  was  born.  His 
father's  home  was  No.  28  East  Twentieth  street, 
a  mansion  inherited  from  an  earlier  generation. 
There  the  lad  spent  his  boyhood,  and  there  was 
his  little  world  till  the  larger  activities  of  adult 
life  gave  a  broader  field  for  his  powers. 

So  far  as  racial  origin  is  concerned,  Theo 
dore  Eoosevelt  is  one-quarter  of  pure  Holland 
blood.  The  Scotch,  Irish  and  French  Huguenot 
strains,  with  fully  three  hundred  years  of  Amer 
ican  residence,  complete  the  heritage  that  birth 
has  bestowed  upon  him. 

His  far  ancestor,  Nicholas  Eoosevelt,  a  great- 
great-great-great-grandfather,  was  an  alderman 
of  the  city  in  the  years  1700  and  1701.  The  son 
of  that  founder  of  the  house  in  America  was 
John  Eoosevelt,  a  merchant ;  and  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  city  government  through  the  long- 
years  from  1748  to  1767,  when  the  city  had 
ceased  to  be  New  Amsterdam,  and  was  become 
an  English  provincial  city,  named  in  honor  of 
the  Duke  of  York.  He  was  prosperous,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  those  fortunes  which  have 


48  THEODORE    EOOSEVELT. 

never  been  dissipated,  though  they  have  never 
risen  to  the  magnitude  offensive  in  American 
eyes.  The  wealth  and  opportunity  seem  always 
to  have  been  used  with  moderation,  and  a  sense 
of  fellowship  with  those  allied  members  of  the 
community  from  which  it  was  drawn. 

Cornelius  C.  Roosevelt,  son  of  John,  was  also 
a  merchant,  and  was  honored  by  election  to  the 
city  legislature  from  that  district  which  had 
always  been  regarded  as  the  domain  of  the  nota 
bles.  He  succeeded  to  office  in  the  troubled  times 
following  the  Eevolution,  and  bore  his  full  share 
in  restoring  the  shattered  fortunes  of  the  city. 
He  served  as  an  alderman  in  those  days  when 
good  government  was  the  ruling  motive;  and 
he  occupied  the  office  from  1785  to  1801.  A 
rather  curious  incident  in  the  life  of  the  family 
was  that  father  and  son  occupied  chairs  in  the 
selfsame  chamber  for  two  years;  for  James 
Roosevelt,  also  a  merchant,  and  the  grandfather 
of  Theodore,  had  established  a  home  just  across 
the  ward  line,  and  became  a  member  of  the  coun 
cil  in  1797.  He  held  that  place  for  two  years, 
and  was  again  elected  in  1809. 

The  family  had  advanced  in  importance  in 
those  years,  for  James  J.  Roosevelt,  son  of  the 


BIKTH,    LINEAGE,    BOYHOOD.  49 

former,  was  an  alderman  in  1828-29-30,  and  was 
sent  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1835,  where  he 
remained  until  the  campaign  year  of  General 
William  Henry  Harrison— 1840.  And  after 
that  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  district 
which  had  known  him  and  his  fathers  for  four 
generations. 

His  son  was  Theodore  Roosevelt,  one  of  the 
foremost  citizens  of  New  York.  He  was  lawyer, 
judge  and  philanthropist,  a  man  of  strong  char 
acter  and  sunny  disposition,  with  a  very  sensible 
plan  for  the  bringing  up  of  boys  and  girls.  He 
insisted  on  plenty  of  outdoor  air,  plenty  of  exer 
cise,  and  such  sports  as  developed  them  phys 
ically.  He  was  a  most  patriotic  man  in  the 
Civil  War  period,  and  in  later  years  established 
the  many  newsboys'  homes  which  have  been  so 
helpful  to  a  class  that  needed  judicious  assist 
ance. 

This  was  the  father  of  President  Roosevelt; 
and  he  was  wise  enough  to  send  his  children 
to  the  public  schools,  where  they  learned  the 
lesson  of  mingling  with  their  kind,  and  of 
taking  the  place  to  which  comparative  abilities 
entitled  them.  There  were  four  children— two 
being  boys.  Elliott  Roosevelt,  the  brother  of 


50 


THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 


Theodore,  was  the  stronger  and  more  vigorous 
of  the  two.  In  the  early  years  he  was  in  large 
measure  the  guardian  and  champion  of  his 
brother;  for  though  the  latter  was  aggressive 
enough,  he  lacked  the  robust  qualities  which  are 
so  much  needed  in  that  democracy  of  youth,  the 
playground. 

As  the  children  grew  older  they  were  given 
educational  advantages  beyond  the  scope  of  for 
mer  teaching,  and  learned  in  private  institutions 
—among  other  things,  somewhat  of  the  responsi 
bility  that  comes  with  position  and  wealth.  It  was 
by  no  means  a  supercilious  arrogance  that  was 
ingrafted  on  the  life  of  the  lads.  The  old  Dutch 
stock  had  advanced  to  a  premium,  even  before 
the  Civil  War;  but  the  spirit  of  this  family  was 
not  so  much  for  exclusiveness  and  hauteur  as  for 
sterling  quality,  and  a  constant  preserving  of 
relations  with  the  world. 

They  were  members  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
church,  and  all  the  children  were  brought  up  in 
strict  conformity  with  its  usages.  They  attended 
the  services,  and  while  the  sermons  are  described 
as  very  long  in  those  days  of  Theodore's  youth, 
there  was  altogether  too  masterful  a  hand  upon 
him  and  his  fellows  to  permit  their  escaping. 


BIRTH,    LINEAGE,    BOYHOOD.  51 

And  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  not  yet  departed  from 
the  traditions  or  the  church  of  his  fathers.  The 
relation  begun  when  he  sat  in  the  high-backed 
pews  of  the  old  church  on  the  "East  Side"  con 
tinues  unbroken  to  the  present ;  and  wherever  he 
has  an  opportunity  to  attend  the  services  of  that 
denomination,  he  faithfully  observes  his  obliga 
tion. 

It  was  a  matter  of  regret  to  his  parents  that 
Theodore  was  of  delicate  physique.  He  had  the 
sturdy  spirit  of  all  the  vigorous  ancestors  who 
had  gone  before,  and  with  it  presented  a  more 
volatile  quality  than  is  usually  found  in  the 
phlegmatic  Hollander.  It  was  as  if  he  had 
caught  up  the  strain  of  his  race  back  in  the  cen 
turies  when  Van  Diemen  sailed,  and  when  Wil 
liam  of  Orange  battled  and  won.  But  he  lacked 
the  physical  force  to  support  his  purposes. 
Throughout  boyhood  he  suffered  in  comparison 
with  his  fellows,  so  far  as  muscular  powers  went. 

As  Theodore  passed  from  boyhood  into  youth 
he  seemed  more  and  more  resolved  to  overcome 
that  handicap  of  a  delicate  frame ;  and  his  effort 
turned  to  developing  the  strength  which  he  so 
much  desired,  and  which  it  seemed  nature  had 
intended  to  deny  him. 


52  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

Possibly  the  courses  of  his  development  were 
aided  by  nature  in  that  period  of  his  life  when 
he  advanced  toward  maturity.  In  any  event, 
he  was  successful.  The  sickly  youth  became 
stronger.  He  suffered  unnumbered  defeats,  but 
never  for  once  was  his  resolution  chilled  or  his 
purpose  altered.  He  would  be  strong.  And  as  he 
attained  the  age  of  preparation  for  college,  he 
was  fully  the  physical  equal  of  young  men  of  his 
years. 

In  study  he  was  from  the  first  almost  a  model 
scholar.  Walter  Scott  was  a  dullard  at  school ; 
and  General  Grant  graduated  pretty  nearly  at 
the  foot  of  a  class  of  forty-four.  Neither  could 
study ;  and  it  seemed  neither  could  learn.  They 
developed  great  talents  later— though  in  vastly 
different  lines ;  but  this  lad,  destined  for  a  splen 
did  intellectual  activity  in  his  manhood,  found 
books  to  his  liking,  and  progress  in  his  studies 
both  easy  and  delightful. 

One  of  the  events  in  his  boy-life  was  the 
acquaintance  with  Edith  Carow,  a  girl  of  nearly 
his  own  age,  and  a  companion  in  school  as  well  as 
in  the  social  intercourse  that  came  with  his  added 
years.  They  were  great  friends,  with  a  charming 
romance  that  continued  from  the  time  they  were 


53 


children  until  he  left  his  New  York  home  to 
enter  upon  life  at  Harvard  College.  They 
had  been  together  while  at  school ;  and  in  those 
days  which  seem  so  far  away  now  they  had  taken 
their  games  to  the  greensward  of  Union  Park, 
and  had  played  there  day  after  day  together. 
Her  home,  indeed,  was  in  Fourteenth  street,  and 
but  a  step  from  the  square.  That  was  a  part  of 
the  fashionable  quarter  at  the  time,  and  the 
myriad  business  houses  had  not  begun  their 
intrusion. 

There  was  plenty  of  reason  for  the  intimacy. 
They  met  at  the  same  children's  parties,  and 
studied  in  the  same  schools— until  little  Miss 
Edith  was  packed  off  to  a  fashionable  boarding- 
school  presided  over  by  a  Miss  Comstock,  who 
will  be  remembered  by  many  of  the  older  New 
Yorkers  to-day.  Edith's  father  was  a  merchant, 
as  his  father  had  been  before  him;  and  her 
mother  was  by  birth  Miss  Gertrude  Tyler, 
daughter  of  General  Tyler,  of  Connecticut.  Her 
family  in  all  its  connections  had  been  rich  and 
prominent  through  many  generations.  The 
same  was  true  of  Theodore,  whose  father  was  a 
lawyer  and  a  judge,  and  had  been  successively 
an  alderman,  a  member  of  the  assembly  at 


54  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

Albany  and  a  congressman  at  Washington. 
Edith  Kermit  Carow  has  said,  in  the  happy, 
established  days  since  her  marriage,  that  she  had 
"liked"  Teddy  Roosevelt  in  those  distant  times 
because  he  could  do  so  much  more  than  she 
could.  And  yet  he  was  a  child  of  puny  strength, 
while  she  reveled  in  all  the  vigor  of  a  healthy 
girlhood.  It  is  probable  the  strong-willed  lad 
impressed  her  with  more  power  than  he  pos 
sessed.  He  certainly  suffered  in  comparison 
with  many  other  lads  of  her  acquaintance,  of  his 
age.  But  it  is  his  brother's  testimony  that  he 
never  permitted  himself  to  be  thrust  out  of  the 
way,  nor  his  little  friend  to  be  imposed  upon. 
And  his  ready  championing  of  her  at  all  times 
may  have  won  him  a  place  in  her  eyes  for  which 
he  was  indebted  rather  to  the  promise  of  his 
spirit  than  the  fulfilment  of  the  flesh. 

Later  in  life  Mr.  Roosevelt  found  more  than 
a  childhood  friend  in  the  girl  companion  of  his 
leisure  hours.  He  found  one  who  understood 
him,  who  had  faith  in  him  and  encouraged  him— 
and  who  came  in  maturer  years,  after  sorrow 
had  visited  him,  to  share  his  home,  to  increase 
his  fortune,  and  to  make  sacred  his  success. 

When  young   Theodore   Roosevelt  had  ad- 


BIRTH,     LINEAGE,     BOYHOOD.  55 

vanced  to  the  age  of  college  study,  and  had  gone 
up  to  Harvard  for  the  final  four  years  of  stu 
dent  life,  he  was  singularly  well-equipped  for 
the  labors  that  awaited  him.  So  far  as  natural 
preference  was  concerned,  he  had  taken  the 
greatest  delight  in  history,  and  in  civil  govern 
ment.  But  so  thoroughly  had  he  made  himself 
master  of  his  tendencies  and  desires  that  he 
passed  exceedingly  well  in  mathematics— that 
bane  of  the  imaginative  scholar.  That  must  have 
meant  adherence  to  a  course  of  self-discipline; 
for  arithmetic  was  naturally  distasteful  to  him. 
He  loved  to  revel  in  books  of  adventure,  and 
knew  the  story  of  his  own  land  and  those  of 
modern  western  Europe,  from  repeated  reading. 
But  he  had  resolutely  devoted  himself  to  the 
less  attractive  studies— being  aided,  no  doubt, 
by  the  rigid  methods  of  his  teachers.  And  the 
mental  training  so  secured  must  be  in  large  part 
chargeable  with  the  close-knit  intellectual  fiber 
which  his  manhood  has  revealed.  It  was  the 
substantial  structure  upon  which  his  later  fancy 
could  build,  just  as  his  acquired  physical  strength 
formed  a  magazine  from  which  his  tireless 
energy  might  draw  without  fear  of  exhausting  it. 
In  the  campaign  of  1900  it  was  sometimes 


56  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

said  that  ' ;  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  born  with  a 
gold  spoon  in  his  mouth. "  But  the  imputation 
is  hardly  fair.  He  was  an  average  boy  as  to 
mental  attainments,  and  considerably  under  the 
average  in  bodily  strength.  Whatever  suc 
cesses  he  has  achieved  seem  to  have  come  more 
from  an  inherent  will  that  would  not  brook 
defeat  in  any  line  rather  than  from  peculiar 
advantages  gratuitously  bestowed  upon  him.  He 
was  rich,  it  is  true,  and  possessed  of  many  social 
advantages.  But  these  could  not  have  won  him 
a  place  in  the  fields  of  physical,  mental  and  polit 
ical  activity  which  he  has  chosen.  A  careful  esti 
mate  of  his  life  must  lodge  much  of  the  credit 
for  his  equipping  in  those  years  of  later  boyhood 
when  his  own  motive  was  the  impelling  force ; 
when  he  would  not  permit  other  boys  to  excel 
him  in  studies,  and  when  he  went  systematically 
at  such  training  as  would  render  it  impossible 
for  them  long  to  excel  him  in  sports.  And  on 
the  basis  of  these  two  elements  in  his  boyhood 
has  probably  been  builded  the  traits  and  the 
powers  which  have  made  him  a  typ'e  of  very 
creditable  American  manhood.  Out  of  these  may 
grow,  if  one  have  the  purpose  to  achieve  it,  an 
equal  success  in  any  line  of  endeavor. 


CHAPTER  III. 

COLLEGE  LIFE. 

ENTERS  COLLEGE  AT  THE  AGE  OF  EIGHTEEN  — DEVELOPS  A  TASTE 
FOR  HUNTING  AND  NATURAL  HISTORY  — IS  ACTIVE  IN  ALL  COL 
LEGE  SPORTS,  ESPECIALLY  WRESTLING  AND  BOXING  — GRADU 
ATES  IN  1880  WITH  HIGH  HONORS  — MEMBERSHIP  IN  CLUBS, 
ETC. 

Slender  of  figure  and  pale  of  face,  Theodore 
Roosevelt  entered  Harvard  in  the  fall  of  the 
Centennial  year,  a  youth  of  eighteen.  He  had 
been  reared  in  a  home  of  refinement  and  com 
fortable  wealth  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He 
was  well  aware  of  his  position  in  society  and  of 
what  would  be  expected  of  him  at  home  when 
his  graduation  day  had  arrived.  He  had  been 
drilled  by  his  parents  in  the  knowledge  of  self- 
dependence  and  already  had  a  mind  leaning  to 
investigation  and  discovery. 

At  the  university,  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  a  unique 
figure.  Sterling,  rugged,  old-fashioned  honesty 
and  a  keen  sense  of  duty  brought  him  up  sharply 
before  every  proposition,  and  he  made  it  the 

57 


58  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

paramount  business  of  the  present  to  find  out  just 
what  was  implied  in  that  proposition.  If  it 
squared  with  his  ideas  of  right  he  adopted  it ;  if 
not,  it  was  rejected  until  he  had  been  convinced 
that  it  contained  more  of  virtue  than  of  evil.  His 
career  in  those  student  days  differed  very  little 
from  the  swift  and  fearless  march  he  has  since 
made  to  the  mountain  peak  of  Americanism.  He 
was  not  so  strong  of  body  then  as  he  has  since 
grown  to  be,  but  he  did  not  hesitate  to  join  in  any 
reputable  sport  or  serious  task  attempted  by  his 
fellows.  In  one  of  his  later  essays  Mr.  Roosevelt 
says :  i  l  One  plain  duty  of  every  man  is  to  face 
the  future  as  he  faces  the  present,  regardless  of 
what  it  may  have  in  store  for  him,  and  turning 
toward  the  light  as  he  sees  the  light,  to  play  his 
part  manfully,  as  a  man  among  men. ' '  A  similar 
spirit  seems  to  have  animated  him  in  all  his 
actions,  even  before  he  had  announced  his  inten 
tion  of  embarking  in  a  public  career.  He  liter 
ally  fought  his  way  through  college  as  he  has 
since  fought  his  way  through  life,  accepting 
nothing  from  any  source  that  did  not  seem  to  him 
to  be  fair  and  founded  in  truth. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  took  with  him  to  Cambridge  a 
habit  of  hard  work  and  a  disdain  for  idleness. 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  59 

Had  he  not  been  well  equipped  with  these  attri 
butes  his  career  must  have  been  one  of  far  less 
moment  to  his  generation,  for  he  was  neither  a 
ready  student  nor  a  rugged  athlete.  It  is  not 
known  that  he  at  this  time  set  a  high  mark  for 
himself  as  a  historian,  a  scientist,  a  politician,  a 
warrior,  or  a  statesman,  in  all  of  which  fields  he 
has  since  reached  distinction.  If  we  may  believe 
his  own  words  he  was  not  so  much  given  to 
dreams  of  achievement  as  the  average  healthy 
youth,  who  has  far  less  chances  to  inspire  his 
imagination.  When  Julian  Ralph  once  asked 
him,  "What  did  you  expect  to  be  or  dream  of 
being  when  you  were  a  boy?"  Mr.  Roosevelt 
answered : 

"I  do  not  recollect  that  I  dreamed  at  all  or 
planned  at  all.  I  simply  obeyed  the  injunction, 
'Whatever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  that  with 
all  thy  might, '  and  so  I  took  up  what  came  along 
as  it  came.  Since  then  I  have  gone  on  Lincoln's 
motto,  'Do  the  best;  if  not,  then  the  best  possi 
ble/  " 

There  seems  to  be  no  question  as  to  the  appli 
cation  of  these  precepts  to  his  own  conduct  by 
Mr.  Roosevelt  while  he  was  in  college.  He 
entered  upon  his  studies  with  the  same  earnest- 


60 


THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 


ness  and  enthusiasm  that  he  has  since  shown  in 
all  his  undertakings,  and  supplemented  them  by 
hearty  cooperation  in  all  college  sports.  He 
says  of  himself  previous  to  his  arrival  in  Cam 
bridge:  "I  was  a  slender,  sickly  boy.  I  had  made 
my  health  what  it  was.  I  determined  to  be  strong 
and  well,  and  did  everything  to  make  myself  so. ' ' 
Of  his  college  days  we  have  this  explicit  declara 
tion  :  "  By  the  time  I  entered  Harvard  I  was  able 
to  take  my  part  in  whatever  sports  I  liked.  I 
wrestled  and  sparred  and  ran  a  great  deal  dur 
ing  my  four  years  in  Cambridge,  and  though  I 
never  came  out  first  I  got  more  good  out  of  the 
exercise  than  those  who  did,  because  I  immensely 
enjoyed  it  and  never  injured  myself.  I  was  very 
fond  of  wrestling  and  boxing.  I  think  I  was  a 
good  deal  of  a  wrestler,  and  though  I  never  won 
a  championship,  yet  more  than  once  I  won  my 
trial  heats  and  got  into  the  final  round. ' ' 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  is  the  first  graduate  of  Harvard 
to  become  President  of  the  United  States  since 
the  election  of  John  Quincy  Adams  to  that  office 
in  1824.  But  his  experiences  have  been  so  varied 
and  his  occupations  so  general  and  democratic 
that  he  will  be  claimed  as  often  by  the  plainsman, 
the  farmer,  the  soldier,  the  sailor  or  the  author, 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  61 

as  by  the  members  of  his  college  society.  He 
began  to  live  in  a  democratic  way  on  his  first 
day  at  college,  and  during  the  entire  four  years 
of  his  course  he  occupied  rooms  in  a  private 
house,  then  No.  16,  now  No.  88  Winthrop  street. 
It  stands  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Winthrop 
and  Holyoke  streets,  two  blocks  toward  the  river 
from  Massachusetts  avenue,  on  the  extreme  edge 
of  the  college  community,  and  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  Charles.  The  house  was  then  kept 
by  Mrs.  Eichardson,  who  afterward  moved  to 
Somerville;  she  rented  the  four  rooms  of  the 
second  floor  to  two  students. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  had  the  two  rooms  at  the  south 
east  corner  of  the  house,  the  front  room,  a  very 
large  study,  and  the  rear  one,  a  very  small  bed 
room.  Compared  to  the  rooms  in  use  by  students 
at  Harvard  now,  since  the  building  of  the  large 
private  dormitories,  Mr.  Eoosevelt 's  quarters 
were  modest  indeed. 

When  Mr.  Eoosevelt  entered  college  he  had 
already  developed  a  taste  for  hunting  and  for 
natural  history,  which  has  since  led  him  so  often 
and  so  far  through  field  and  forest  and  made 
him  an  authority  on  the  character  and  habits  of 
the  big  game  of  America.  His  rifle  and  hunting- 


62  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

kit,  the  skins  and  trophies  of  the  chase,  were  the 
most  conspicuous  things  in  his  room.  His  birds 
he  mounted  himself.  Live  turtles  and  insects 
were  always  to  be  found  in  his  study,  and  one 
who  lived  in  the  house  with  him  at  the  time 
recalls  the  excitement  occasioned  by  a  partic 
ularly  large  turtle,  sent  him  by  a  friend  from 
the  Southern  seas,  which  escaped  out  of  its  box 
one  night  and  started  toward  the  bath-room  in 
search  of  water. 

In  the  memory  of  his  classmates  Mr.  Roosevelt 
holds  a  warm  place,  notwithstanding  his  pro 
nounced  opinions  and  fearless  habit  of  expres 
sion.  As  one  of  them  has  expressed  it,  he  was 
"peculiarly  earnest  and  mature  in  the  way  he 
took  hold  of  things. "  Both  his  fellows  and  his 
teachers  say  he  was  much  above  the  average  as  a 
student.  Yet  he  was  not  easily  led,  even  then,  but 
was  as  original  and  as  reliant  on  his  own  judg 
ment  as  at  present.  In  a  mere  matter  of  opinion 
or  dogma  he  was  always  ready  to  cross  swords 
with  his  instructors,  and  several  of  his  contempo 
raries  in  college  recall  with  smiles  some  very 
strenuous  discussions  with  teachers  in  which  he 
was  involved  by  his  habit  of  defending  his  own 
convictions.  At  graduation  he  was  one  of  the  few 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  63 

of  his  class  who  took  honors,  his  subject  being 
natural  history. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  seems  at  this  time  to  have  fol 
lowed  that  all-round  activity,  and  to  have  attained 
that  high  excellence  in  each  field  which  is  the 
ideal  of  college  experience.  He  was  well  toward 
the  top  as  a  student,  but  he  was  far  too  human 
not  to  have  a  full  share  in  the  social  and  political 
life  of  the  institution.  In  his  sophomore  year 
he  was  one  of  the  forty  men  in  his  class  who 
belonged  to  the  Institute  of  1870.  In  his  senior 
year  he  was  a  member  of  the  Porcelain  Club,  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi,  and  the  Hasty  Pudding  Clubs. 
Of  the  last  named  he  was  secretary. 

His  membership  in  the  clubs  of  a  less  social 
nature  shows  what  kind  of  a  college  man  he  was. 
In  rowing,  baseball  and  football  he  was  an  ear 
nest  champion,  although  seldom  an  active  par 
ticipant.  In  other  athletic  contests  he  was  a 
familiar  figure.  It  was  while  at  Harvard  that 
he  became  proficient  in  boxing,  an  art  that  stood 
him  in  good  stead  at  an  important  stage  of 
his  career  as  an  assemblyman,  when  the  argu 
ment  of  brute  force  was  invoked  to  suppress  him. 
Boxing  was  a  regular  feature  of  the  Harvard 
Athletic  Association  contests,  and  " Teddy,"  as 


64  THEODOEE    ROOSEVELT. 

he  was  universally  called,  was  the  winner  of 
many  a  lively  "bout.  He  has  never  been  a  believer 
in  a  negative  policy,  and  some  of  his  happiest 
epigrams  have  sprung  from  his  knowledge  of  the 
art  of  self-defense. 

During  his  college  days  Mr.  Roosevelt  kept 
a  horse  and  cart,  the  latter  one  of  the  extremely 
high  ones  that  were  in  vogue  at  that  time,  and 
which  to-day  may  be  frequently  seen  on  the  boul 
evards  of  American  cities.  In  this  he  drove 
almost  every  afternoon.  His  love  for  the  saddle 
was  developed  later,  when  he  adopted  the  life  of 
a  cowboy.  He  was  a  familiar  figure  in  the  society 
of  Boston,  where  his  dashing  and  picturesque 
ways  made  him  a  welcome  guest.  There  is  a 
photograph  extant,  taken  at  this  time,  which 
shows  him  with  a  rather  becoming  set  of  whis 
kers.  It  was  taken  at  graduation  and  is  highly 
prized  by  his  classmates.  The  picture  shows  a 
young  man  of  mature  thought  and  sober  judg 
ment. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  his  share  in  college  jour 
nalism.  During  his  senior  year  he  was  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  Advocate.  Albert  Bushnell 
Hart,  professor  of  American  history  in  the  col 
lege,  was  editor-in-chief.  It  is  not  plain  just 


. 
po 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  65 

what  work  Mr.  Roosevelt  did  on  the  Advocate. 
The  future  author  of  "Winning  of  the  West" 
seems  to  have  contented  himself  with  purely  edi 
torial  duties  or  to  have  thought  too  little  of  his 
writings  to  claim  them,  for  the  files  of  the  paper 
reveal  but  one  article  signed  by  him,  and  this 
bears  only  the  initial  "R."  However,  this  arti 
cle  is  identified  by  his  associates  on  the  publica 
tion.  It  is  entitled ' '  Football  in  Colleges, ' '  and  is 
merely  a  resume  of  conditions  of  the  game  at 
Yale  and  Princeton.  It  has  little  of  the  nervous 
force  and  picturesque  style  of  his  later  writings. 
The  one  Roosevelt  touch  is  in  the  closing  para 
graph,  which  reads :  ' '  What  is  most  necessary  is 
that  every  man  should  realize  the  necessity  of 
faithful  and  honest  work,  every  afternoon. ' '  The 
last  two  words  are  in  italics.  The  utterance  is 
characteristic  of  the  man,  and  valuable  in  that  it 
points  thus  early  to  his  driving  qualities. 

An  incident  recalled  by  his  classmates  is 
equally  characteristic  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  shows 
that  he  did  things  much  the  same  way  then  that 
he  does  them  now.  A  horse  in  a  stable  close 
by  Mr.  Roosevelt's  room  made  a  sudden  noise 
one  night,  which  demanded  instant  attention. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  had  retired,  but  without  stopping 


66  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

to  change  his  apparel  he  sprang  out  of  the 
window,  two  stories  from  the  ground,  and  had 
quieted  the  trouble  before  the  less  impetuous 
neighbors  had  arrived. 

While  in  college  Mr.  Roosevelt  held  member 
ship  in  the  following  clubs :  The  Natural  History 
Society;  the  Art  Club,  of  which  Charles  Elliot 
Norton  was  president;  the  Finance  Club;  the 
Glee  Club  (associate  member) ;  the  Harvard 
Rifle  Corps ;  the  0.  K.  Society,  of  which  he  was 
treasurer,  and  the  Harvard  Athletic  Association, 
of  which  he  was  steward. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  outdoor  life,  his  hunting  and 
fishing  trips,  and  the  study  and  cataloguing  of 
the  birds  and  insects  of  his  neighborhood  had 
aroused  in  him  a  love  of  natural  history  long 
before  he  entered  college.  Most  of  his  summers 
were  spent  at  the  Roosevelt  farm  near  Oyster 
Bay,  then  almost  as  inaccessible  from  New  York 
as  the  Adirondacks  now  are,  and  there  was 
plenty  of  opportunity  for  long  tramps  through 
the  woods  and  fields  in  search  of  information. 
His  perseverance  as  a  boy  was  phenomenal. 
Once  his  curiosity  was  aroused  concerning  any 
living  organism  he  allowed  himself  no  rest  until 
he  had  the  whole  scheme  of  its  development  down 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  67 

from  the  original  protoplasm.  He  continued 
these  studies  all  through  his  college  career  and 
at  graduation  had  a  mind  well  stored  with  the 
facts  of  natural  history.  In  this  way  he  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  investigations  that  have  since 
given  to  his  descriptions  of  hunting  a  peculiar 
scientific  value  not  owned  by  those  of  any  other 
writer.  He  loved  the  country  from  boyhood,  and 
to-day  credits  his  physical  endurance  to  his  early 
outdoor  life.  "I  belong  as  much  to  the  country 
as  to  the  city,"  he  often  says;  "I  owe  all  my 
vigor  to  the  country. ' ' 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  reading  and  research  had 
been  of  such  a  nature  as  to  develop  his  admira 
tion  for  heroic  deeds,  and  in  college  he  became  a 
close  student  of  history,  being  specially  attracted 
to  the  science  of  government  and  the  stirring 
tales  that  accompanied  the  accounts  of  the  differ 
ent  conquests  and  tho  formation  of  new  powers. 
He  never  tired  of  reading  the  "Federalist," 
which  he  calls  l '  the  greatest  book  of  its  kind  ever 
written."  Mr.  Ray  Standard  Baker,  in  "A 
Character  Sketch  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,"  published 
in  McClure's  for  November,  1898,  says  of  him: 
'  '  No  young  American  of  the  time  was  more  thor 
oughly  familiar  with  the  history  of  his  country, 


68  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

both  east  and  west,  and  with  the  lives  of  its 
greatest  men.  He  had  studied  its  politics  as  well 
as  its  wars,  and  he  knew  every  one  of  the  noble 
principles  on  which  it  was  founded." 

It  was  while  in  college  that  Mr.  Roosevelt 
conceived  the  idea  of  his  attractive  and  useful 
history  of  the  "Naval  War  of  1812,"  and  he 
began  writing  it  almost  as  soon  as  he  was  out 
of  Harvard. 

The  causes  that  have  resulted  in  Mr.  Eoose 
velt  's  being  given  the  title  of  "  A  Typical  Amer 
ican"  can  be  easily  traced  in  the  development  of 
his  character  during  this  formative  period  of  his 
college  life.  ' i  Each  of  us, ' '  he  says, l '  who  reads 
the  Gettysburg  speech,  or  the  second  inaugural 
address  of  the  greatest  American  of  the  nine 
teenth  century,  or  who  studies  the  long  cam 
paigns  and  lofty  statesmanship  of  that  other 
American  who  was  even  greater,  cannot  but  feel 
within  him  that  lift  toward  things  higher  and 
nobler,  which  can  never  be  bestowed  by  the 
enjoyment  of  material  prosperity." 

Here  was  an  aristocrat  born  and  bred,  a 
young  man  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  riches,  who 
at  the  very  outset  of  his  career  not  only  chose 
for  his  model  the  deeds  of  the  two  greatest 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  69 

Americans,  but  at  once  declared  his  belief  in  a 
spiritual  rather  than  a  material  government. 
Neither  was  he  satisfied  in  merely  expressing  his 
belief  in  these  models,  but  he  set  to  work  to  con 
form  to  them  as  far  as  circumstances  and  the 
changed  conditions  of  the  times  would  permit. 
He  felt  no  sentimental  timidity  in  declaring  his 
faith  in  these  ideals,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he 
proclaimed  that  faith  in  his  earliest  public  utter 
ances,  and  has  kept  it  with  surprising  tenacity 
through  a  stormy  and  perilous  voyage  on  the  sea 
of  politics. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  graduated  from  the  university 
in  1880,  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  man,  and  he  after 
ward  spent  some  time  studying  in  Dresden.  He 
was  now  in  his  twenty-third  year,  a  robust, 
broad-shouldered,  square- jawed  young  man,  a 
born  fighter  anxious  for  the  conflict  of  life.  He 
had  no  need  to  work;  his  income  was  ample  to 
keep  him  in  comfort,  even  luxury,  all  his  life. 
He  might  have  spent  his  summers  at  Newport 
and  his  winters  on  the  continent,  seeking  in  pop 
ular  diversions  those  pleasures  which  come 
almost  unsought  to  the  favorites  of  fortune.  He 
might  have  won  fame  as  an  amateur  athlete,  and 
he  had  the  wit,  tact  and  presence  to  be  one  of  the 


70  THEODORE    EOOSEVELT. 

lions  of  society  at  home  and  abroad.  Had  he 
followed  this  course  no  one  would  have  thought 
of  blaming  him.  Whatever  he  gave  to  the  world 
would  have  been  accepted  with  the  world's  usual 
good  nature,  and  there  would  have  been  no  fur 
ther  demands  upon  his  talent  or  his  fortune  than 
he  was  pleased  to  bestow. 

To  most  young  men  in  Mr.  Eoosevelt's  situa 
tion,  a  life  of  ease  and  pleasure  would  have 
seemed  the  only  one  at  all  consistent  with  his 
inherited  wealth  and  mental  endowments.  But  a 
life  of  ease  and  indolence  offered  no  attractions 
to  the  future  Eough  Eider.  He  craved  the  stir 
and  action  of  conflict.  His  country  was  at  peace 
and  America  was  the  only  land  in  which  this 
young  patriot  would  look  for  inspiration  in 
action.  He  tried  the  excitements  of  foreign 
travel  and  scaled  the  Jungfrau  and  the  Matter- 
horn,  winning  for  his  feats  a  membership  in  the 
Alpine  Club  of  London.  But  these  were  empty 
honors,  brave  deeds  enough  in  themselves,  but 
uarren  of  results.  He  returned  to  New  York 
and  attempted  the  study  of  law  with  his  uncle, 
Eobert  B.  Eoosevelt.  He  worked  at  his  naval 
history.  He  hunted  the  biggest  game  he  could 
find,  and  followed  their  trails  alone  or  with  a 


COLLEGE    LIFE.  71 

single  man  to  assist  him  in  the  duties  of  the  camp. 
Then,  in  1881,  he  attended  his  first  primary— a 
primary  of  the  Republican  party— and  discov 
ered  his  life-work.  To  most  young  men  of  his 
education  and  breeding,  fresh  from  their  books, 
and  acquainted  with  the  greatest  achievements 
of  their  countrymen,  such  a  gathering  as  comes 
together  in  a  political  primary  would  have 
seemed  unimportant,  if  not  mean  and  sordid; 
but  Mr.  Eoosevelt  saw  in  that  mixed  company  of 
men  the  foundation  of  free  government.  If  it 
was  selfish  and  subject  to  improper  rule  those 
were  faults  to  be  corrected.  Here  was  an  oppor 
tunity  for  good  fighting  to  some  end,  and  it 
strongly  attracted  him. 

From  this  time  on  Mr.  Roosevelt  never  lost 
his  interest  in  practical  politics.  He  went  into  it 
with  the  earnest  intention  of  being  useful  to  his 
fellows  by  doing  what  he  could  to  correct  the 
evils  that  had  grown  up  in  the  Government,  and 
the  record  of  his  deeds  since  that  eventful  night 
is  an  earnest  of  the  vigorous  campaign  he  has 
made  along  those  lines. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  NEW  YORK  ASSEMBLYMAN. 

AT  ONCE  ATTRACTS  ATTENTION  TO  HIMSELF  AS  AN  UNCOMPRO 
MISING  FOE  TO  MACHINE  RULE,  AND  A  FRIEND  OF  GOOD  GOVERN 
MENT—STRIKING  PROMISE  OF  A  REMARKABLE  PUBLIC  CAREER 
—  NOT  EVEN  THE  DANGER  OF  BODILY  VIOLENCE  COULD  DETER 
HIM  —  A  REVELATION  TO  THE  ROWDIES. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  scarcely  returned  home 
when  his  friends  asked  him  to  become  their  can 
didate  for  election  to  a  seat  in  the  legislature 
from  the  Twenty-first  Assembly  district  of  the 
State.  It  was  not  wholly  distasteful  to  him  in 
prospect,  for  the  Roosevelts  had  been  identified 
with  public  affairs  for  nearly  two  centuries ;  and, 
besides,  he  hungered  for  the  activity  which  polit 
ical  life  was  likely  to  bring. 

But  there  was  a  motive  still  stronger  than 
this,  and  one  that  seems  to  have  moved  him  gen 
erally  in  his  actions  through  life.  In  the  career 
which  this  promised  service  in  the  legislature 
could  open  to  him,  he  saw  the  opportunity  to  do 
some  good  for  his  fellows.  He  was  a  wide-awake 

72 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  73 

man,  a  man  of  the  world— so  far  as  his  years 
went,  and  uncommonly  well-informed  on  practi 
cal  affairs.  He  knew  that  really  disinterested 
government  was  not  wholly  the  object  of  the  law- 
making  powers.  He  knew  there  was  corruption 
in  the  halls  of  the  assembly  at  Albany,  and  that 
even  the  public  conscience  of  his  own  city— the 
aristocratic  portions  as  well  as  those  less  preten 
tious—was  not  of  the  sterling  quality  that  it 
should  be.  He  knew  there  was  much  shameless 
corruption  in  the  tenement  districts ;  but  he  was 
one  of  the  first  to  use  that  scalding  term,  "the 
wealthy  criminal  classes. ' ' 

He  had  a  theory  that,  however  great  the  diffi 
culties  encountered,  up  there  at  Albany  or  any 
where  else,  the  man  who  met  them  with  honesty, 
resolution  and  common  sense  would  be  pretty 
likely  to  conquer.  And  he  loved  to  conquer— 
if  only  the  opposition  to  be  overcome  were  suffi 
ciently  strong. 

The  interesting  thing  about  the  whole  propo 
sition  was  that  his  fight  began  at  the  very  outset 
of  his  political  career.  He  was  of  that  Murray 
Hill  district  which  was  then  the  name  for  all 
exclusiveness  and  propriety.  But  the  district 
had  long  been  the  political  possession  of  a  ring 


74  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

in  his  own  party  which  did  not  permit  inde 
pendence  of  action  any  more  than  did  the  less 
decorous  rulers  of  the  Bowery.  No  Democrat 
had  the  ghost  of  a  chance  for  election  from  Mur 
ray  Hill ;  but,  similarly,  no  Republican  had  ever 
gone  from  there  to  the  legislature  at  Albany 
with  independence  enough  and  character  enough 
to  leave  his  name  in  the  memory  of  a  single  citi 
zen.  And  it  was  understood  very  well  by  the 
gentlemen  who  had  so  skilfully  manipulated  the 
primaries  and  the  polls  that  this  man  Eoosevelt 
was  not  the  person  they  wanted  in  the  legislature. 
They  did  not  like  his  square  jaw.  They  remem 
bered  or  heard  of  the  Roosevelts  of  the  past,  and 
knew  it  was  not  a  pleasant  name  to  conjure 
against.  They  particularly  deprecated  his  habit 
of  thinking  for  himself  instead  of  coming  to 
ward  headquarters  every  morning  and  asking 
what  opinions  were  to  be  entertained  for  the  day. 

So  the  "  managers  "  were  against  him. 

That  is  why  his  conflict  in  politics  began 
with  the  beginning  of  his  political  life. 

The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  effect  the  over 
throw  of  that  corrupt  coterie  of  politicians  who 
had  been  sending  vapid  and  inefficient  men  to 
the  assembly  from  the  Murray  Hill  district. 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  75 

These  had  been  in  no  sense  representative  of  that 
excellent  electorate;  but  they  had  been  exceed 
ingly  convenient  for  the  men  who  sent  them  to 
Albany.  Mr.  Eoosevelt  went  at  the  matter  with 
the  directness  that  was  part  of  his  nature.  The 
laws  gave  him  the  right  to  rally  his  friends  and 
supporters  at  the  primaries ;  and  before  the  old 
managers  were  aware  of  their  peril  they  had 
exercised  that  commonly  unused  privilege  of 
American  citizenship,  and  had  expressed  their 
will  in  the  selection  of  a  candidate.  Mr.  Roose 
velt  was  nominated. 

Then  he  was  elected.  That  was  by  no  means 
difficult.  And  the  men  who  had  been  managing 
affairs  political  in  Murray  Hill  found  a  stronger 
man  at  the  helm.  Their  occupation  was  gone. 
As  they  had  opposed  him,  of  course  it  was  hope 
less  to  command  him.  It  was  equally  useless  to 
try  to  bully  him.  That  was  discovered  at  the 
very  outset.  And,  these  things  being  true,  it  was 
beyond  probability  that  they  could  buy  him.  So 
that,  in  a  period  of  great  corruption,  a  pure  man 
and  a  strong  man  took  his  seat  in  the  legislature. 

There  was  an  added  motive  for  commendable 
action  at  the  time.  It  has  been  stated  that  in  his 
boyhood  he  was  the  playmate  of  Edith  Carow, 


76  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

and  that  they  grew  up  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  uniting  their  fortunes  when  they  should  come 
to  maturity— when  they  should  have  passed 
school  days,  and  the  world  should  be  their  own. 

But  while  a  student  at  Harvard  he  had  met 
Miss  Alice  Lee,  of  Boston;  and  an  attachment 
sprang  up  between  them  which  ripened  into  that 
profound  regard  in  which  the  lives  of  a  man  and 
a  woman  are  bound  in  a  perfect  union.  And  in  the 
recess  following  his  first  term  in  the  legislature, 
Mr.  Koosevelt  and  Miss  Lee  were  married.  It  was 
a  most  happy  union,  and  the  following  year  a 
daughter  was  born  to  them.  But  in  1883,  while 
serving  his  third— and  last— term  in  the  legisla 
ture,  Mrs.  Koosevelt  died ;  and  it  seemed  to  her 
bereaved  husband  that  one  of  his  main  incentives 
to  a  strenuous  life  had  been  taken  from  him.  His 
mother's  death  in  the  following  year  cast  another 
pall  upon  his  spirit,  and  the  conflicts  of  men 
appeared  for  the  first  time  valueless. 

He  remained  a  member  of  the  assembly  for 
three  terms.  In  that  time  he  sat  with  bankers 
and  bricklayers,  with  merchants  and  mechanics, 
with  lawyers,  farmers,  day-laborers,  saloon 
keepers  and  prize-fighters.  Every  interest  in  the 
great  State  was  represented— even  those  of  the 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  77 

criminal.  And  the  * '  honorable ' '  servants  of  tliis 
last  class  were  by  no  means  modest  or  abashed, 
or  at  all  solicitous  to  be  recognized  as  anything 
other  than  what  they  were.  Mr.  Eoosevelt  has 
himself  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  members  of  the  assem 
bly  and  the  thirty-two  men  in  the  senate  com 
posed  a  little  parliament  which  controlled  the 
public  affairs  of  a  commonwealth  more  populous 
than  any  one  of  two-thirds  of  the  kingdoms  of 
Europe,  and  one  which,  in  point  of  wealth,  mate 
rial  prosperity,  variety  of  interests,  extent  of 
territory  and  capacity  for  expansion,  could  fairly 
rank  next  to  the  powers  of  the  first  class. 

Though  it  was  not  at  all  the  result  for  which 
he  had  started  when  he  went  to  Albany,  he  found 
beyond  a  doubt  that  corruption  existed  there. 
It  did  not  surprise  him,  nor  shock  him  to  the 
point  of  inability  to  proceed  with  his  mission; 
and  he  wasted  no  time  trying  to  correct  that 
evil— in  the  sense  of  seeking  exposure  and  pun 
ishment  for  the  culprits.  He  did  a  better  work  in 
proceeding  openly  and  honestly  for  the  accom 
plishment  of  the  measures  which  seemed  to  him 
of  greatest  benefit  to  the  State,  and  to  his 
constituents.  But  he  had  not  been  in  the  assem- 


78  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

bly  a  week  before  lie  was  a  marked  man.  He 
disarranged  theories  distressingly.  Here  was  a 
man  who  had  no  private  schemes  to  further,  and 
no  selfish  principles  to  which  ordinary  motives 
could  appeal.  Demagogues  could  not  safely  rush 
their  measures  through  the  house,  for  he  was 
likely  at  any  time  to  rise  with  a  perfectly  panic- 
producing  question.  He  could  not  be  met  in 
debate,  for  he  was  master  of  direct  speech,  quick 
in  repartee,  and  perfectly  willing  to  give  and  take 
in  that  combat  of  words  which  falls  into  disuse 
when  corruption  becomes  the  moving  power  in 
legislation.  As  the  "  bosses  "  down  in  the  Mur 
ray  Hill  district  had  discovered,  these  gentlemen 
in  the  legislature  became  convinced  that  he  could 
neither  be  bought  nor  bullied. 

But  one  thing  was  left,  and  the  very  low 
grade  of  the  assembly  may  be  understood  when 
it  is  stated  that  the  men  who  sought  to  control  the 
lower  house,  who  had  controlled  it  for  years,  no 
matter  which  party  was  in  power,  hired  a  thug 
to  meet  Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  administer  in  a  beat 
ing  the  rebuke  which  a  body  of  elected  American 
legislators  had  decided  he  deserved. 

One  night  in  the  lobby  of  the  old  Delavan 
House  the  collision  occurred.  That  was  a  famous 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  79 

hostelry,  since  burned,  where  legislators  from 
all  over  the  State  congregated  every  evening, 
and  where  much  of  the  actual  business  of  the 
session  was  transacted. 

It  has  always  been  a  peculiarity  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  nature  that  he  never  "got  mad"  at 
people,  no  matter  what  the  provocation.  He 
always  remembered  faces,  and  all  that  had 
passed  in  his  association  with  a  man;  but  he 
never  avoided  that  person,  no  matter  what  the 
latter 's  conduct  may  have  been.  In  legislative 
life  that  is  an  especially  valuable  trait.  He  could 
fight  a  man  all  day  on  the  floor,  and  then  meet 
him  with  a  laugh  and  a  jest  in  the  evening.  And 
so  on  this  night,  after  a  day  when  he  had  been 
a  particularly  sharp  thorn  in  the  side  of  corrup 
tion,  he  moved  about  the  lobby  of  the  old  hotel, 
chatting  with  friends,  tossing  a  laugh  and  a  good- 
natured  thrust  at  those  who  had  opposed  him, 
and  treating  the  whole  matter  from  the  stand 
point  of  one  who  understands  the  motives  as  well 
as  the  actions  of  those  with  whom  he  is  asso 
ciated.  He  did  not  pose.  He  made  no  pretense 
of  loftier  morality  than  those  about  him,  but  let 
them  draw  their  own  conclusions  from  his  con 
duct. 


80  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

At  ten  o'clock  he  started  to  leave  the  hotel. 
On  the  way  from  the  upper  portion  of  the  lobby, 
where  he  had  been  chatting  with  fellow  mem 
bers,  he  passed  the  door  leading  to  the  buffet. 
And  from  that  door,  as  by  a  preconcerted  signal 
from  the  " honorable  men"  with  whom  he  had 
been  associating,  came  a  group  of  fellows,  rather 
noisy,  and  full  of  the  jostling  which  follows  tar 
rying  at  the  wine.  They  were  not  a  pleasant  lot. 
One  in  particular  was  a  pugilist  called l  i  Stubby ' ' 
Collins;  and  this  bully  bumped  rather  forcibly 
against  Mr.  Roosevelt.  The  latter  was  alone,  but 
he  saw  in  an  instant,  with  the  eye  of  a  man  accus 
tomed  to  collisions,  the  fact  that  this  little  party 
had  waylaid  him  with  a  purpose.  He  paused, 
fully  on  his  guard,  and  then  ' l  Stubby, ' '  with  an 
appearance  of  the  greatest  indignation,  struck 
at  him,  demanding  angrily:  "What  do  you 
mean,  running  into  me  that  way?" 

The  blow  did  not  land.  The  men  who  hired 
"Stubby"  had  not  informed  him  that  this  young 
member  of  the  assembly  had  been  one  of  the  very 
best  boxers  at  Harvard,  and  rather  liked  a  fight. 
They  had  simply  paid  the  slugger  a  certain  price 
to  "do  up"  the  man  who  could  not  take  a  hint 
in  any  other  way. 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  81 

In  an  instant  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  chosen  his 
position.  It  was  beyond  the  group  of  revellers, 
and  where  he  could  keep  both  them  and  the  more 
aristocratic  party  of  their  employers  in  view. 
And  there,  standing  quite  alone,  "  Stubby  "  made 
his  rush.  In  half  a  minute  the  thug  was  beaten. 
He  had  met  far  more  than  his  match ;  and  the 
two  or  three  of  his  friends  who  tendered  their 
assistance  were  gathering  themselves  up  from 
the  marble  floor  of  the  lobby,  and  wondering  if 
there  had  not  been  a  mistake. 

When  it  was  all  over  Mr.  Roosevelt  walked, 
still  smiling,  down  the  room,  and  told  the  "  hon 
orable  "  providers  of  this  combat  that  he  under 
stood  perfectly  their  connection  with  it,  and  that 
he  was  greatly  obliged  to  them.  He  had  not 
enjoyed  himself  more  for  a  year. 

After  that  the  representative  of  the  Murray 
Hill  district  was  treated  with  the  consideration 
which  his  varied  talents  deserved. 

In  one  of  his  essays  Mr.  Koosevelt  has  taken 
occasion  to  lay  the  blame  for  a  corrupt  legisla 
ture  where  it  properly  belongs ;  and  he  does  it  in 
the  most  graphic  manner  imaginable.  A  young 
man  had  done  good  and  honest  work  in  the  legis 
lature,  but  had  by  no  means  been  the  pliant  tool 


82  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

of  the  politicians  that  bad  government  required, 
and  so  a  combination  was  made  to  defeat  him. 
Mr.  Koosevelt  undertook  to  assist  his  friend  to  a 
return,  in  spite  of  the  opposition.  A  voter,  a 
man  of  large  interests,  was  inveighing  bitterly 
against  the  tyranny  of  politicians  who  should 
conspire  for  the  young  man's  overthrow,  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt  said  to  him : 

1 '  Of  course  you  will  stay  at  the  polls  all  day, 
and  work  for  his  reelection!" 

"Unfortunately,"  said  the  citizen  who 
yearned  for  better  government,  "I  have  an 
engagement  to  go  quail-shooting  next  Tuesday. ' ' 

The  moral  Mr.  Roosevelt  tried  to  convey  was 
that  lawmakers  and  officials  generally  were 
quite  what  the  public  made  them;  and  that, 
above  all  things,  the  legislator  was  representative 
of  the  people  who  employed  him. 

He  had  learned  the  men  with  whom  he  served. 
Some  he  could  trust.  Some  he  must  fight.  And 
he  took  up  his  tasks  accordingly.  He  became  in 
a  month,  without  the  aid  of  any  caucus,  the  leader 
of  the  minority— and  the  best  hated  man  in 
Albany. 

He  found  a  large  number  of  men  who  were 
good  enough  in  themselves,  but  who  were 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  83 

owned ' '  by  some  interest  or  some  man  desiring 
favors  at  the  hands  of  the  legislators.  These 
men  would  act  with  their  party,  whichever  it 
might  be,  on  what  were  regarded  as  unimportant 
matters— that  is,  matters  touching  the  general 
good  of  the  people.  But  they  were  held  to  a 
strict  accountability  whenever  really  vital  mat 
ters  were  concerned.  "Vital  matters"  were 
those  only  which  touched  the  pockets  of  the  men 
who  owned  the  assemblymen.  Some  idea  of  the 
method  employed  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  this  phase 
of  his  activity  may  be  gleaned  from  a  passage  in 
his  essay  on  "Phases  of  State  Legislation." 

"On  one  occasion  there  came  before  a  com 
mittee  of  which  I  happened  to  be  a  member,  a 
perfectly  proper  bill  in  the  interest  of  a  certain 
corporation.  The  majority  of  the  committee,  six 
in  number,  were  thoroughly  bad  men,  who 
opposed  the  measure  in  the  hope  of  being  paid 
to  cease  their  opposition.  When  I  consented  to 
take  charge  of  the  bill  I  had  stipulated  that  not 
one  penny  should  be  paid  to  insure  its  passage. 
It  therefore  became  necessary  to  see  what  pres 
sure  could  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  recalcitrant 
members;  and,  accordingly,  we  had  to  find  out 
who  were  the  authors  and  sponsors  of  their  polit- 


84  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

ical  being.  Three  proved  to  be  under  the  control 
of  local  statesmen  of  the  same  party  as  them 
selves,  and  of  equally  bad  moral  character.  One 
was  ruled  by  a  politician  of  unsavory  reputation 
from  a  different  city.  The  fifth,  a  Democrat,  was 
owned  by  a  Eepublican  Federal  official ;  and  the 
sixth  by  the  president  of  a  horse-car  company. 
A  couple  of  letters  from  these  two  magnates 
forced  the  last  members  mentioned  to  change 
front  on  the  bill  with  surprising  alacrity. ' ' 

But  there  was  another  side  to  his  life  in  the 
assembly.  He  met  there  many  men  who  were 
earnest  and  honest,  and  some  who  were  efficient 
in  securing  the  legislation  they  believed  best  for 
the  public  of  the  State,  as  well  as  for  their  con 
stituents.  Some  labored  without  a  thought  of 
their  future  political  prospects,  or  a  present 
pecuniary  reward.  And  while  he  approved  them, 
he  was  forced  to  declare  that  they  were  not  very 
well  used  by  their  constituents.  Yet  in  the  final 
conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  he  says  the 
chances  of  a  man's  being  retained  in  the  public 
service  are  about  ten  per  cent,  better  when  he  is 
honest  than  when  he  is  dishonest,  other  things 
being  equal. 

There  was  at  times  a  distinctively  humorous 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  85 

view  of  the  life.  Men  like  Roosevelt  liked 
the  excitement,  and  the  perpetual  conflict.  He 
has  said  in  later  years:  "War  and  politics— 
those  are  the  two  greatest  games."  He  liked  to 
put  forth  his  full  powers  to  reach  his  ends ;  and 
if  he  was  at  times  saddened  or  angered  by  the 
viciousness  or  the  ignorance  of  his  colleagues, 
yet  the  latter  at  times  unwittingly  furnished  him 
a  good  deal  of  fun.  For  one  thing,  there  was  a 
deadlock  in  the  attempt  to  organize  the  legisla 
ture  of  1882.  The  Democrats  were  in  a  majority, 
but  a  faction  fight  had  rent  the  party  in  twain ; 
and  days  were  passed  without  anything  being  ac 
complished.  Finally,  one  day  the  leaders  of  the 
county  faction  sent  to  the  leaders  of  the  Tam 
many  faction  a  proposition  plainly  headed :  ' '  An 
Ultimatum. "  The  word  had  the  appearance  of 
Latin.  It  was  unusual.  It  was  regarded  with 
suspicion,  because  it  was,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
men  addressed,  plainly  meant  as  an  insult.  And 
they  replied  next  day  with  a  counter  proposition 
splendidly  answering  the  base  calumniation  of 
yesterday  by  a  title  as  follows:  "An  Ipse  Dixit 
to  Your  Ultimatum. " 

One  day  a  very  fervid  orator  was  speaking 
in  favor  of  a  bill  supposed  to  be  directed  against 


86  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  contract  labor  system,  and  he  wound  up  a 
sufficiently  remarkable  oration  with  the  still  more 
startling  assertion  that  the  system  was  "a  vital 
cobra  which  was  swamping  the  lives  of  the  work- 
ingmen. ' ? 

Among  the  less  desirable  elements  in  the 
assembly  there  came  to  be  a  sort  of  contempt  for 
all  measures  not  tending  to  the  benefit  of  some 
private  person  or  special  interest.  There  was  a 
code  of  ethics  among  the  corrupt  which  invested 
with  dignity  everything  not  of  a  public  nature. 
Everything  else  was  spoken  of  scornfully  as  "a 
local  bill. ' '  Entering  the  chamber  one  day  while 
a  vote  was  being  taken,  Mr.  Roosevelt  asked  a 
member  on  the  floor:  "  What's  up!  What  are 
they  voting  on?  '  "  Oh,  it's  a  local  bill  —  a 
constitutional  amendment. ' ' 

Grover  Cleveland  became  governor  while 
Mr.  Eoosevelt  served  at  Albany,  and  on  one 
occasion  vetoed  a  bill  relating  to  the  control  of 
street-car  companies.  One  of  the  assemblymen, 
discussing  the  veto,  in  an  attempt  to  pass  the 
measure  notwithstanding  its  disapproval  by  the 
State  executive,  cried  impressively: 

"Mr.  Speaker,  I  recognize  the  hand  that 
crops  out  in  that  veto.  I  have  heard  it  before." 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  87 

Some  of  the  members  from  the  lower  New 
York  districts  had  caught  up  the  word  "shibbo 
leth,  ' '  and  seemed  to  regard  it  as  a  more  correct 
name  for  their  national  weapon,  the  shillalah; 
and  the  mistakes  they  made  in  consequence  pro 
vided  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  his  friends  with  food 
for  laughter  all  the  rest  of  the  session. 

The  chairman  of  one  of  the  committees  was  a 
pompous,  good-natured  Colonel  from  the  Roch 
ester  district.  He  was  given  to  indulgence  in 
wine ;  and  on  one  occasion  came,  rather  the  worse 
for  his  potations,  to  a  meeting  of  the  committee 
which  was  to  receive  a  delegation  of  citizens. 
The  spokesman  was  a  burly  fellow,  and  the  Colo 
nel,  not  very  sure  of  his  seat— nor  of  anything 
else— glared  at  him  malevolently.  But  the  visi 
tor's  oratory  had  a  soporific  effect;  and  the 
Colonel  drifted  away  into  unconsciousness. 
Presently  the  orator,  who  had  warmed  to  his 
work,  began  hammering  the  table,  and  bawling  at 
a  great  rate.  The  Colonel  was  roused  from  his 
sleep.  He  looked  around,  realized  some  phases 
of  the  situation,  partially  remembered  the  orator, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  seen  that 
speaker  on  some  previous  day.  It  did  not  occur 
to  him  that  he  could  have  been  asleep— and  that 


88  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

would  have  been  a  bad  confession  to  make,  in 
any  event.  So  he  pounded  on  the  table  with  his 
gavel,  and  said : 

"I've  seen  you  before,  sir." 

"This  is  the  first  day  I  ever  was  here," 
replied  the  man. 

" Don't  tell  me  I  lie,  sir.  YouVe  addressed 
this  committee  on  a  previous  day.  I  remember 
your  face  and  your  voice  perfectly.  No  man 
shall  speak  to  this  committee  twice.  The  com 
mittee  stands  adjourned." 

Then  there  were  certain  legislative  actions 
which  possessed  in  themselves  something  of 
opera  bouffe  qualities.  Among  these  were  the 
resolutions  expressing  sympathy  with  the 
oppressed  peoples  in  Europe— always  couched 
in  language  offensive  to  some  great  power.  One 
of  these  demanded  the  recall  of  James  Russell 
Lowell,  minister  to  England,  because  he  had 
permitted  Great  Britain,  without  a  protest,  to 
refuse  independence  to  Ireland. 

But,  in  the  main,  Mr.  Roosevelt's  experience 
in  the  legislature  was  of  very  great  value  to  him. 
For  one  thing,  it  developed  him  in  precisely  the 
direction  he  needed  at  the  time.  He  came  back 
from  those  three  terms  at  Albany  with  a  better 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN.  89 

idea  of  men  and  the  means  to  be  employed  in 
managing  them;  with  a  better  idea  of  public 
life,  and  the  means  of  using  it  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people,  and  with  a  far  better  understanding 
of  himself.  But  there  was  a  consideration  still 
more  important:  he  was  introduced  to  the 
nation.  A  young  man,  with  the  handicap  of 
wealth  and  lineage  and  good  breeding,  and  even 
with  a  partisan  majority  against  him,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  effecting  some  most  important  legisla 
tion.  New  York  looked  toward  him  hopefully. 
The  whole  country  realized  the  fact  that  he  was 
one  of  those  referred  to  in  these  words  by  Lord 
Beaconsfield :  ' '  They  have  letters  in  their  pockets 
addressed  to  posterity ' ' ;  and  it  came  to  be  very 
generally  understood  that  these  letters  would  be 
delivered. 

It  is  but  fair  to  glance  critically  at  Mr.  Eoose- 
velt's  work  in  the  legislature.  It  was  the  begin 
ning  of  his  public  career,  and  certainly  contains 
an  earnest  of  what  might  fairly  be  expected  of 
him  in  the  days  that  were  to  follow. 

For  one  thing,  he  secured  the  enactment  of  a 
civil  service  law.  He  was  one  of  that  company  of 
reformers  in  both  great  parties,  of  which  George 
William  Curtis,  Senator  Edmunds  and  Grover 


90  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

Cleveland,  the  latter  then  governor  of  New  York, 
were  members.  So  far  as  the  public  service  of 
the  State  went,  the  new  law  was  the  beginning  of 
the  merit  system,  and  its  advance  from  there  to 
adoption  in  national  legislation  was  immensely 
facilitated. 

He  secured  an  investigation  of  the  county 
offices  of  the  State,  by  which  it  was  discovered 
that  the  principal  officials  in  New  York  county 
were  drawing  nearly  a  million  dollars  a  year  in 
fees,  while  discharging  no  duties  whatever ;  and 
all  like  offices  were  placed  on  a  moderate— though 
adequate— salary  system. 

He  began  that  inquiry  into  the  abuse  of  police 
powers  which  has  continued  until  better  condi 
tions  prevail,  and  which  will  result  in  purity  of 
administration,  unless  the  people  of  the  greatest 
city  in  the  country  shall  be  timid  enough  or 
supine  enough  to  permit  known  wickedness  to 
prevail. 

He  secured  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  taking  from  the  aldermen  of  New 
York  city  the  supreme  executive  power,  and  plac 
ing  it  in  the  hands  of  the  mayor,  where  it 
belongs. 

But,  above  all  things,  he  made  it  clear  that 


AN    ASSEMBLYMAN".  91 

good  government  was  within  the  reach  of  the 
people  if  only  they  really  desired  it,  and  had  the 
courage  and  honesty  and  ability  to  proceed  to 
fight  for  it. 

It  was  prophesied  of  him  that  he  could  not  be 
reflected  at  the  expiration  of  his  first  term ;  but 
he  had  little  difficulty  going  back— even  for  the 
third  term.  And  it  is  likely  he  could  have 
remained  in  the  assembly  much  longer  if  he  had 
so  desired.  But  there  was  other  work  for  him, 
and  to  this  he  turned  when  his  task  there  was 
accomplished. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IN  NATIONAL  AND  CITY  POLITICS. 

RECOGNIZED  AS  A  FACTOR  IN  NATIONAL  AFFAIRS  — A  LEADER  OF 
MEN,  LOYAL  TO  THE  BEST  TRADITIONS  OF  HIS  PARTY,  BUT 
INTENSELY  AN  AMERICAN— MAINTAINING  A  SPLENDID  INDE 
PENDENCE—THE  FORLORN  HOPE  IN  THE  RACE  FOR  ELECTION 
AS  MAYOR  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

So  far  from  his  aggressive  methods  and  inde 
pendent  principles  proving  the  causes  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  retirement  from  political  life,  as  his 
enemies  had  predicted,  these  were  the  very  quali 
ties  which  won  for  him  the  strong  endorsement  of 
all  that  was  good  in  his  party  organization,  and 
among  the  better  classes  of  that  party's  follow 
ing.  He  had  marked  out  for  himself  a  very  defi 
nite  course,  and  his  watchword  was  reform.  When 
he  retired  from  the  legislature,  he  had  already 
become  a  character  of  national  interest ;  and  so 
far  from  being  consigned  to  private  life,  he  was 
chosen  as  a  delegate  at  large  to  the  National 
Republican  convention  in  1884,  and  sent  unin- 
structed  to  the  councils  of  his  party. 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  93 

It  has  been  humorously  said  of  that  period 
that  it  "was  a  time  of  reform,  with  a  capital  R." 
There  was  a  feeling  among  a  number  of  men, 
for  whom  George  William  Curtis,  editor  of 
Harper's  Weekly,  was  a  sort  of  spokesman,  that 
civil  service  deserved  more  consideration  than 
had  so  far  been  accorded  it.  By  that  term, 
always  inaccurate,  was  meant  a  betterment  of 
the  public  service  by  relieving  it  of  the  incubus 
of  the  spoils  system.  It  would  have  been  more 
in  accordance  with  the  end  aimed  at  to  have 
employed  the  term  t '  merit  system. ' '  For  it  was 
a  known  fact  that  most  of  the  offices  were  por 
tioned  out  to  party  followers  on  the  basis  of 
their  party  services,  and  wholly  without  regard 
to  fitness  for  place.  It  was  desired  that  selection 
and  tenure  might  depend  upon  the  degree  of 
merit  men  possessed.  With  or  without  reason, 
Mr.  Elaine  was  regarded  generally  as  unfriendly 
to  the  cult  advocated  by  Mr.  Curtis,  Mr.  Andrew 
D.  White  and  Mr.  Eoosevelt, 

But  Mr.  Blaine  was  a  candidate  for  the  nom 
ination  to  the  presidency,  and  there  was  no  sort 
of  doubt  he  had  marshalled  an  immense  strength. 
He  had  been  called  "the  magnetic  statesman' '; 
and  he  certainly  did  draw  to  his  support  a  host 


94  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

of  politicians  of  most  remarkable  enthusiasm 
and  energy.  Because  it  was  not  believed  there 
was  much  hope  for  the  merit  system  in  the  event 
of  Mr.  Elaine's  election— possibly  for  other  rea 
sons — his  aspirations  were  frowned  upon  by  Mr. 
Curtis  and  his  friends— a  very  large  and  very 
respectable  company.  So  that,  in  sending  rep 
resentatives  to  the  convention,  the  Republicans 
of  New  York  felt  that  no  greater  good  could  be 
achieved  than  in  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Elaine.  To 
that  end,  no  specific  directions  bound  the  dele 
gates.  They  were  at  liberty  to  use  their  influence 
in  the  convention  in  such  manner  as  would  best 
subserve  the  interests  of  reform  in  general,  and 
to  aid  in  the  nomination  of  any  man  who  stood 
for  the  aims  toward  which  it  seemed  the  party 
and  the  nation  so  certainly  tended. 

That  meant  a  certain  conflict  with  what  had 
been  regarded  as  fealty  to  party,  for  active  man 
agers  throughout  the  nation  were  unquestionably 
in  favor  of  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Elaine.  But 
Mr.  Eoosevelt  had  long  before  written  in  his 
political  creed:  "I  do  not  number  party  alle 
giance  among  the  Ten  Commandments." 

In  the  face  of  a  question  of  right  and  wrong, 
he  recognized  no  loyalty  to  party;  and  he  felt 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  95 

the  matter  of  right  was  involved  in  the  nomina 
tion  of  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  because  at 
the  hour  that  nomination  meant  the  approval  or 
the  condemnation  of  the  very  reform  for  which 
good  men  were  striving. 

" There  are  times,"  he  had  said,  "  when  it 
may  be  the  duty  of  a  man  to  break  with  his  party ; 
and  there  are  other  times  when  it  may  be  his 
duty  to  stand  by  his  party,  even  when  on  some 
points  he  thinks  that  party  is  wrong.  If  we  had 
not  party  allegiance  our  politics  would  become 
mere  windy  anarchy,  and  under  present  condi 
tions  our  Government  would  hardly  continue  at 
all.  If  we  had  no  independence,  we  should 
always  be  running  the  risk  of  the  most  degraded 
kind  of  despotism— the  despotism  of  the  party 
boss  and  the  party  machine. ' ' 

Having  decided  that  the  best  interests  of  his 
party  and  the  nation  demanded  the  defeat  of  Mr. 
Elaine  in  the  convention,  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  his 
friends  made  a  coalition  with  the  Edmunds 
forces,  and  labored  through  the  days  preceding 
the  assembling  of  delegates,  to  win  for  the  Ver 
mont  statesman  a  sufficient  number  to  insure  a 
nomination.  The  convention  met  in  the  old 
Exposition  building,  at  Chicago ;  and  there  was 


96  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

a  season  of  noise  and  enthusiasm  from  the 
arrival  of  the  first  delegation.  Clamor  and 
excitement  were  the  weapons  of  the  Elaine  fol 
lowing,  and  streets  and  hotels  and  places  of 
public  gathering  were  loud  with  hurrahs  for 
"the  man  from  Maine, "  and  good-humored  chal 
lenges  to  his  enemies.  The  opponents  of  Mr. 
Elaine  had  no  means  of  employing  a  similar 
plan  of  battle,  for  they  had  no  candidate  about 
whom  the  young  men  and  the  energetic  party 
workers  could  rally  as  they  could  about  that 
remarkable  character.  There  was  an  abundance 
of  stubborn  antagonism  to  the  Elaine  advance, 
but  it  was  rather  of  the  negative  sort.  President 
Arthur  was  a  candidate  for  renomination,  but 
he  had  been  a  friend  of  Senator  Conkling;  and 
no  man  warm  in  support  of  Mr.  Elaine  could 
possibly  be  induced  to  endorse  Mr.  Arthur. 

Senator  Edmunds  was  regarded,  the  country 
over,  as  a  type  of  purity  and  ability  in  states 
manship.  It  was  quite  generally  believed  that 
he  represented  elements  quite  the  reverse  of 
those  for  which  Mr.  Elaine  stood.  And  it  waa 
largely  owing  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Eoosevelt 
that  the  New  York  delegation  was  recognized 
as  the  major  part  of  Mr.  Edmunds'  strength. 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  97 

The  convention  was  notable,  even  in  the  his 
tory  of  national  assemblies.  The  room  was  the 
same  as  that  in  which  the  Grant  forces  had  gone 
down  four  years  before,  grim  and  defiant  even 
in  defeat.  And  yet  John  A.  Logan,  one  of  the 
three  men  who  led  that  "old  guard, "  the  famous 
three  hundred  and  six,  was  here  as  a  candidate, 
and  perfectly  able  to  capture— at  the  very  least 
-the  second  place  on  the  ticket.  Mr.  Eoosevelt 
was  accorded  place  with  the  Committee  on  Reso 
lutions.  He  laid  little  claim  to  a  part  in  the 
formulation  of  the  platform,  for  there  had  never 
been  a  doubt  in  his  mind  that  the  man  to  be 
chosen  was  far  more  clearly  indicative  of  the 
policy  of  the  party  than  any  declaration  of  prin 
ciples  that  might  be  made.  And  he  devoted  his 
energies  to  bringing  about  a  coalition  between 
the  forces  of  President  Arthur  and  those  of  Mr. 
Edmunds.  The  result  was  that  the  latter  went 
into  the  convention  second  in  strength  to  "the 
plumed  knight,"  a  title  that  Mr.  Elaine  had 
worn  since  his  nomination  at  Cincinnati  by 
Colonel  Ingersoll  in  1876. 

The  student  of  practical  politics  will  be  inter 
ested  to  turn  back  the  files  of  some  daily  paper, 
and  read  the  record  of  that  convention.  There 


98  THEODOEE    KOOSEVELT. 

was  a  struggle  at  the  beginning  for  the  selection 
of  a  temporary  chairman.  The  name  of  Mr. 
Lynch,  a  colored  man  from  Louisiana,  had  been 
put  forward,  and  there  was  a  sentiment  that 
this  was  for  the  purpose  of  flattering  the  colored 
men  in  the  convention,  with  no  purpose  of  doing- 
more  than  to  bestow  honorable  mention.  But  in 
a  twinkling  the  vote  of  Illinois,  well  held  in 
the  hand  of  General  Logan,  was  added  to  the 
strength  of  the  black  man,  and  he  was  chosen  to 
the  position.  The  act  had  the  double  effect  of 
winning  the  good  will  of  the  colored  delegates 
to  General  Logan,  in  whatever  service  he  might 
need  them,  and  of  convincing  the  Elaine  follow 
ing  that  the  Illinois  man  would  have  to  be  reck 
oned  with,  whatever  contingencies  might  arise. 

When  Mr.  Koosevelt  saw  the  result  of  that 
vote,  he  got  up  from  the  floor  of  the  convention, 
and  went  out  to  the  committee  room,  where  he 
met  a  number  of  his  confreres. 

1 1  Elaine  will  be  nominated, ' '  he  said. 

"Why?"  asked  one  of  the  most  experienced 
politicians  of  the  country. 

"Because  Logan  has  made  it  possible." 

It  was  looked  upon  as  the  emotional  estimate 
of  a  young  man,  new  to  practical  politics.  The 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  99 

leaders  of  the  anti-Blaine  contingent  believed 
themselves  spokesmen  of  all  that  was  reputable 
and  the  custodians  of  all  that  was  honorable  in 
their  party.  And  it  was  difficult  for  them  to 
believe  that  the  representatives  chosen  by  that 
party  in  every  section  of  the  country  could  refuse 
to  follow  them. 

But  the  young  man  from  New  York,  the 
young  man  who  had  shattered  the  ring  that  had 
been  sending  assemblymen  from  Murray  Hill, 
and  who  had  forced  a  merit  law  through  a  hos 
tile  legislature,  was  right. 

Mr.  Elaine  was  nominated. 

The  first  day  of  the  convention  was  taken  up 
in  temporary  organization.  The  second  saw  the 
wrangle  over  a  platform,  and  the  debate  which 
waked  when  the  attempt  was  made  to  pledge 
every  member  of  the  convention  to  the  support 
of  the  ticket  to  be  nominated.  And  at  10  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  June  5,  1884,  the  hour  for 
conflict  had  come.  In  the  first  ballot  Mr.  Elaine 
led,  with  Mr.  Edmunds  a  close  second,  and  the 
following  list  of  "favorite  sons"  trailing  away 
with  unimportant  votes:  Arthur,  Logan,  Haw- 
ley,  W.  T.  Sherman  and  Robert  Lincoln. 

The  second  ballot  showed  a  decided  gain  for 


100  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  man  from  Maine.     Mr.  Roosevelt  and  his 
friends  worked  as  they  never  had  worked  before, 
for  they  believed  the  nomination  of  that  man 
meant  the  defeat  of  the  party  at  the  polls ;  but 
it  was  to  no  avail.     The  organization  of  the 
Elaine  forces  had  been  far  too  thorough.    Not 
only  were  the  delegates  in  general  infected  with 
that    enthusiasm    which    roused    wherever    his 
name  was  mentioned,  but  a  careful  reading  of 
the  reports,  as  well  as  the  testimony  of  those— 
still  living— who  attended  the  convention,  is  to 
the  effect  that  the  galleries  were  packed  with 
Elaine  adherents.    When  "nominations  were  in 
order,"  Edmund's  name  evoked  a  decorous  and 
respectable  cheering.    President  Arthur's  nom 
ination  was  greeted  with  all  the  applause  which 
Federal  officials,  grateful  for  favors  expected, 
could  give  it.    Robert  Lincoln  won  but  a  perfunc 
tory  greeting.     But  when  the  blind  preacher 
from  Ohio  told  of  the  matchless  qualities  of 
James  G.  Elaine,  there  was  a  continuous  and 
deafening  roar  of  applause  for  the  space  of  fif 
teen  minutes;    and  it  began  anew  at  intervals, 
and  roared  again  when  the  peroration  was  con 
cluded. 

Elaine  was  the  idol  of  the  convention ! 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  101 

The  fourth  and  last  ballot  was  as  follows : 

Elaine 541 

Arthur  207 

Edmunds 41 

Logan 7 

Hawley 15 

Lincoln  .  2 


813 
Necessary  to  a  choice 407 

And  it  seemed  that  the  young  reformer  from 
New  York  had  lost.  Yet  in  the  course  of  time  it 
was  discovered  by  even  the  most  practical  poli 
ticians  of  his  party  that  every  prophecy  he  had 
made  was  realized.  The  nominee  of  that  con 
vention  was  defeated  at  the  polls  in  November— 
the  first  of  his  party  to  suffer  such  a  fate  in 
twenty-four  years. 

It  is  a  little  curious  to  note  that  in  this  period 
of  his  life  Mr.  Eoosevelt  was  the  close  personal 
friend  of  Mr.  Grover  Cleveland,  then  governor 
of  New  York,  and  who  in  this  same  summer  was 
nominated  as  the  candidate  of  the  Democrats  for 
the  presidential  chair.  Both  were  advocates  of 
reform  in  politics,  and  that  wiser  reform  which 
goes  to  the  fact  of  government.  To  men  not 


102  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

fully  informed  as  to  the  situation  in  New  York 
State,  Mr.  Cleveland's  doctrine  may  have  been 
regarded  as  not  wholly  sincere;  for  he  was  a 
member  of  the  parfy  which,  in  a  national  way, 
was  out  of  power.  And  it  was  national  politics 
as  much  as  state,  that  they  sought  to  purify. 
But  there  was  as  great  a  degree  of  sincerity, 
very  likely,  in  the  position  of  the  Democrat  as  in 
that  of  the  Republican,  even  in  the  broader  field. 
But  that  man  who  views  both  Mr.  Cleveland  and 
Mr.  Eoosevelt,  in  this  campaign  of  1884,  as  seek 
ers  after  either  state  or  national  advantage, 
lacks  information  as  to  the  motives  that  con 
trolled  them.  Mr.  Cleveland,  because  his  party 
had  long  been  out  of  power  in  the  nation,  ha? 
been  accused  of  an  ulterior  motive  in  seconding 
those  measures  of  reform  in  the  public  service 
for  which  Mr.  Roosevelt  so  sturdily  battled.  And 
the  latter  has  been  regarded  as  trying  for  the 
command  of  forces  in  the  Empire  State.  But 
both  estimates  are  wrong.  Mr.  Cleveland  could 
hardly  have  departed  in  so  short  a  time  from  the 
course  which  had  engrossed  him  from  the  begin 
ning,  for  he  was  a  "York  State  man";  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  realized  then  the  national  possibil 
ities  that  were  opening  before  him.  On  the  other 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  103 

hand,  it  would  be  folly  to  accuse  Mr.  Roosevelt 
of  cribbing  and  confining  his  labors  to  the  hori 
zon  of  state  politics.  He  felt  the  need  of  reform 
there  as  much  as  did  Mr.  Curtis.  But  he  saw 
the  need  of  a  national  change  of  heart;  and  all 
his  effort  in  the  political  arena  was  devoted  to 
securing  it. 

And  yet  these  two  men  were  friends.  They 
were  both  battling  for  a  better  government, 
because  they  both  believed  a  better  govern 
ment  was  possible,  and  was— by  the  very  exi 
gency  of  the  occasion— made  necessary.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  defeated  in  his  labors  at  the 
national  convention,  and  a  campaign  of  noise 
and  enthusiasm  began  immediately,  and  re 
minded  him  for  five  months  of  the  failure 
recorded  against  him. 

His  personal  friend,  Mr.  Cleveland,  repre 
sented  the  very  principles,  so  far  as  reform  and 
the  merit  system  were  concerned,  for  which  he 
had  battled.  And  yet  not  even  the  most  inveter 
ate  enemy  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  ever  accused  him 
of  supporting  his  friend  in  the  election,  at  the 
expense  of  the  nominee  of  his  party. 

Therein  is  found  the  realization  of  his  doc 
trine  that  a  man  may  at  times  follow  the  lead  of 


104  THEODOKE    BOOSEVELT. 

his  party  even  when  he  believes  it  to  be  wrong. 
It  may  bring  little  comfort  to  the  wight  who 
expects  a  partisan  to  desert  his  party  at  each 
trivial  offense;  but  it  shows  none  the  less  a 
political  sagacity  which  prevents  a  man  sacrific 
ing  all  his  influence  by  "bolting"  every  time  his 
suggestions  are  not  engrafted  into  law.  It  is  a 
temptation  peculiarly  seductive  to  young  men. 
But  it  failed  to  win  this  stalwart  son  of  New 
York.  He  voted  in  the  convention  against  bind 
ing  the  delegates  to  support  the  nominee— who 
ever  this  might  be.  But  when  that  nomination 
was  recorded,  he  gave  his  support  to  the  ticket, 
so  far  as  voting  went.  And  had  not  a  personal 
calamity— the  death  of  his  mother— fallen  ai>this 
period,  he  would  doubtless  have  given  an  even 
more  active  support  to  the  choice  of  his  party  at 
Chicago. 

As  it  was  he  maintained  his  relations  with 
his  fellows  inside  the  organization.  And  though 
he  withdrew  from  active  intercourse  with  them, 
and  devoted  himself  for  some  years  to  more 
stirring  events  in  the  far  West,  there  was  no 
blot  on  his  partisan  escutcheon.  And  when  the 
summer  of  1886  brought  the  demand  for  a  can 
didate  for  the  mayoral  chair  in  the  city  of  New 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  105 

York,  his  was  the  one  name  used  to  conjure  with. 
Grover  Cleveland  was  President  of  the  United 
States.  Less  than  two  years  had  elapsed  since 
his  election  to  that  high  office.  Both  personally 
and  politically  he  was,  at  the  hour,  invincibly 
strong.  The  Democrats  of  the  city  had  nomi 
nated  a  ticket  of  exceptional  excellence.  Hon. 
Abram  Hewitt  .was  chosen  as  the  standard- 
bearer  in  the  municipal  fight,  and  he  was  recog 
nized  the  country  over  as  a  man  of  clean  morals 
and  high  ideals.  Against  him  the  independents 
nominated  Henry  George,  then  on  the  top  wave 
of  a  popularity  won  with  his  writings.  For  the 
author  of  "Progress  and  Poverty"  expressed  the 
case  of  the  "army  of  discontent ' ' ;  and  New 
York  city  had  hailed  him. 

The  election  occurred  in  November,  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt  met  his  second  defeat  in  political  life. 
Mr.  Hewitt's  vote  was  90,552.  That  of  Mr. 
George  was  68,110,  while  60,435  ballots  were 
deposited  for  Mr.  Eoosevelt.  It  was,  from  the 
beginning,  the  most  hopeless  race  imaginable. 
There  was  no  sort  of  chance  for  the  defeat  of  the 
opposing  ticket,  except  in  the  retirement  of  the 
George  ticket.  And  as  the  friends  of  that  theo 
rist  insisted  on  his  remaining  in  the  field,  Mr. 


106  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

Roosevelt's  showing  was  the  least  considerable 
of*  the  three. 

If  he  had  been  a  man  of  ordinary  timber,  that 
would  have  been  the  last  of  him.  He  had  already 
been  recognized  as  a  man  of  note.  Harper's 
Weekly  had  been  placing  him  in  complimentary 
cartoons  ever  since  the  passage  of  the  merit  law 
at  Albany,  yet  he  had  been  overthrown  by  the 
voters  of  his  city.  But  this  was  a  matter  of  the 
smallest  concern  to  him.  He  knew  he  was  right, 
and  was  certain  he  could  "bide  the  lapse  of 
time. ' '  It  would  surely  bring  his  justification. 

Meantime  he  withdrew  from  the  "madding 
crowd."  Two  years  before,  when  the  death  of 
his  wife  and  of  his  mother  had  combined  to 
depress  him,  he  had  gone  to  the  far  Northwest, 
and  established  a  home  on  the  banks  of  the  upper 
Missouri.  He  had  engaged  in  the  cattle  industry. 
He  had  renewed  his  habit  of  hunting.  Whether 
New  York  city  elected  or  rejected  him  was  a  mat 
ter  of  the  smallest  importance,  for  he  was  almost 
more  a  guest  than  a  resident  in  the  city  of  his 
birth  when  his  friends,  to  the  number  of  more 
than  sixty  thousand,  rallied  to  his  standard  in 
the  fall  of  1886. 

Now,  in  this  portion  of  his  life,  no  less  than 


IN    NATIONAL  POLITICS.  107 

in  those  passages  where  success  attended  him, 
it  is  fair  to  take  note  of  the  man's  accomplish 
ment.  In  the  first  place  it  must  not  be  under 
stood  for  a  moment  that  he  went  to  the  ranch  life 
in  the  Bad  Lands  because  of  reverses  in  his  expe 
rience.  He  went  there  when  he  was  twenty-six 
years  old.  He  had  already  served  three  terms 
in  the  assembly  of  his  State.  His  wife  had  died, 
and  his  mother— his  sole  remaining  parent— 
had  followed.  He  was  come  to  the  time  for 
thought.  And  it  is  a  curious  phase  of  the  man's 
career  that  he  turned  in  this  hour  of  retirement 
to  the  employment  of  those  attributes  with  which 
his  previous  study  had  supplied  him.  He 
thought,  and  he  wrote.  And  the  nomination  for 
the  mayoralty,  wholly  unsolicited,  made  small 
disturbance  in  the  course  of  his  development.  He 
had  known  the  sweets  of  victory.  He  had  sup 
ported  the  crushing  burden  of  defeat.  And  he 
had  found  in  the  great  plains  of  the  Northwest 
the  very  experience  of  all  others  that  could 
broaden  and  deepen  his  being.  He  gathered 
there  the  physical  power  which  was  to  provide 
the  basis  for  his  labors  later  on.  He  was  for  the 
time  near  to  nature;  and  in  that  communion 
he  gathered  a  quality  of  wisdom  and  of  strength 


108  THEODOEE    ROOSEVELT. 

which  nothing  else  could  have  furnished.  Some 
of  his  countrymen  knew  the  city,  with  all  its 
multifarious  environment.  Some  knew  the  coun 
try,  and  were  narrowed  in  their  range  of  vision, 
hampered  in  their  view.  But  he  was  gathering 
the  material  and  arriving  at  the  view-point 
which  should  equip  him  for  judging  and  weigh 
ing  composite  matters  later  on. 

Some  men  are  great  in  victory,  but  not  so 
constituted  as  to  brook  reverses.  Of  these  was 
Senator  Conkling,  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  own  State. 
Some  are  developed  while  continually  oppressed 
by  adverse  majorities.  Of  these  was  Mr.  Henry 
George,  who  contributed  to  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
defeat.  But  here  was  a  man  superior  to  the 
variations  of  fortune,  and  steadfast  alone  in  his 
progress  toward  the  one  ideal.  He  stood  for 
good  government  as  much  as  in  the  days  of  his 
successes  at  Albany.  He  helped  the  nation  to 
better  citizenship  by  realizing  a  better  Ameri 
canism  himself.  And  in  these  years  when  fail 
ure  confronted  him  he  proved  the  metal  that  was 
in  him  more  than  ever  he  had  done  in  the  days 
of  his  most  exuberant  triumph. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RANCHING  IN  THE  BAD  LANDS. 

COMRADE  WITH  THE  COWBOYS  —  WINS  THE  CONFIDENCE  AND 
ESTEEM  OF  HUNTERS,  RANCHMEN  AND  PIONEERS  — " BUSTING" 
BRONCHOS  —  ADVENTURES  WITH  WILD  BEASTS  —  THRILLING 
FIGHT  WITH  A  GRIZZLY. 

The  adventurous  spirit  was  surely  a  part  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt 's  heritage ;  and  when,  after 
the  completion  of  his  college  course,  he  felt  that 
life  had  given  him  the  world  as  the  field  of  his 
activities,  he  naturally  felt  a  desire  for  so  much 
spice  of  adventure  as  prudence  and  good  judg 
ment  would  permit.  Those  were  "piping  times 
of  peace."  There  was  no  war  with  which  his 
country  was  concerned;  and  he  was  far  from 
the  type  of  fortune's  soldier  who  makes  the 
cause  of  distant  peoples  his  vital  concern.  He 
could  find  too  much  of  utility  nearer  home. 

There  were  no  gold-fields.  In  the  busy  years 
when  the  American  Republic  was  gathering  for 
the  world-empire  which  has  come  to  it  later, 

109 


110  THEODORE    EOOSEVELT. 

the  man  of  adventurous  spirit  was  hard  pressed 
to  employ  his  energies. 

It  happened  in  this  period  that  great  ranches 
were  being  established  in  the  far  Northwest. 
Before  the  Civil  War  the  plains  of  Texas  had 
been  dotted  with  cattle.  Little  attention  was 
paid  to  them  until  the  latter  days  of  that  strug 
gle.  Then  it  was  found  that  beef  of  any  kind 
was  rare  and  difficult  to  get.  The  herds  of 
Texas  became  the  commissary  of  two  armies, 
and,  when  the  war  was  over,  sagacious  men 
took  the  hint  and  began  to  engage  in  the 
cattle  business.  At  first  Texas  remained  the 
breeding  ground.  Kanchmen  drove  their  young 
cattle  north  for  three  years  of  feeding  before 
shipping  them  to  market.  But  as  the  years 
passed  they  found  the  " range"  taken  up.  The 
trail  from  the  Panhandle  of  Texas  to  the  pasture 
lands  of  the  North  had  been  strung  with  barbed 
wire  of  farmers ;  and  the  cattlemen  had  to  find 
preserves  of  their  own.  That  forced  the  devel 
opment  of  the  Upper  Missouri  country.  And 
the  coincident  building  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Eailroad  provided  a  means  of  reaching  markets. 

Scores  of  ranches  were  opened  in  that  new 
country,  lately  wrested  from  the  Indians.  The 


RANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  Ill 

Marquis  de  Mores,  a  picturesque  Frenchman, 
was  one  of  those  who  took  advantage  of  the  for 
tune  offered,  and  he  spent  a  magnificent  dot 
establishing  the  town  of  Medora,  an  abortive 
city  crowned  with  the  name  of  his  wife. 

Mr.  Boosevelt,  fretting  at  the  irksomeness 
of  the  law  as  a  study,  realizing  vaguely  the 
greater  career  that  was  in  store  for  him,  cast  his 
eyes  to  the  one  Eldorado  which  promised  scope 
for  his  energy  and  fuel  for  those  fires  of  adven 
ture  which  burned  within  him,  went  to  the  ' l  Bad 
Lands, ' '  and  engaged  in  the  life  of  a  rancher.  It 
was  with  no  purpose  of  gaining  wealth.  While 
by  no  means  one  of  the  rich  men  of  the  nation, 
since  wealth  had  come  to  be  measured  in  mil 
lions,  he  had  still  no  need  to  earn  a  competence. 
But  there  was  a  breadth  and  freedom,  a  romance 
and  exhilaration  in  the  prospect  which  attracted 
him. 

So  he  established  himself  on  the  Little  Mis 
souri,  and  opened  two  cattle  ranches.  One  was 
called  " Chimney  Butte";  the  other  "The 
Elkhorn. ' ?  Here  at  intervals,  for  years,  he  lived 
a  life  of  vigor  and  activity,  developing  those 
lungs  that  had  suffered  somewhat  in  the  labor  of 
study,  and  the  living  in  cities ;  and  wakened  as 


112  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

well  that  resourcefulness  in  danger,  that  self- 
reliance  and  the  power  to  combat  which  his 
future  career  was  to  require. 

At  the  same  time  he  passed  there  many  de 
lightful  months.  There  was  absolutely  no  limit 
to  the  range  he  might  ride.  Kemember  it  was  in 
the  early  eighties,  when  every  day  was  a  test  of 
endurance,  and  every  night  a  demonstration  of 
courage.  It  is  little  wonder  if  the  tonic  quality 
of  the  great  Northwest  entered  into  his  frame, 
and  added  both  to  his  stature  and  his  strength. 
Mr.  Eoosevelt  has  himself  laughingly  said  he 
made  little  money  on  his  cattle  ranches.  But  he 
won  something  that  cannot  be  measured  in 
money;  for  he  gave  himself,  at  the  only  period 
when  the  time  was  at  his  command,  the  precise 
form  of  development  that  has  proven  so  valuable 
in  his  later  life— and  that  will  arm  him  to  the  end. 

There  was  adventure  in  plenty.  A  fragment, 
taken  from  his  own  book,  "Hunting  Trips  of  a 
Kanchman,"  gives  a  brief  but  vivid  suggestion 
of  the  kind  of  life  he  led.  Together  with  a  com 
panion,  he  had  started  on  the  trail  of  a  huge 
grizzly  bear.  "We  could  still  follow  the  tracks 
by  the  slight  scrapes  of  the  claws  on  the  bark, 
or  by  the  bent  and  broken  twigs;  and  we  ad- 


• 


KANCHING  IN  THE  BAD  LANDS.      113 

vanced  witli  noiseless  caution,  slowly  climbing 
over  dead  trunks  and  upturned  stumps,  and  not 
letting  a  branch  rustle  or  catch  our  clothes. 
When  in  the  middle  of  the  thicket  we  crossed 
what  was  almost  a  breastwork  of  fallen  logs, 
and  Merrifield,  who  was  leading,  paused  by  the 
upright  stem  of  a  large  pine.  And  there,  not  ten 
steps  off,  was  the  great  bear,  slowly  rising  from 
his  bed  among  the  young  spruces.  He  had  heard 
us,  but  apparently  hardly  knew  where  or  what  we 
were,  for  he  reared  up  on  his  haunches  sidewise 
to  us.  Then  he  saw  us,  and  dropped  down  again 
on  all  fours,  the  shaggy  hair  on  his  neck  and 
shoulders  seeming  to  bristle  as  he  turned  toward 
us.  As  he  sank  down  on  his  forefeet  I  raised  the 
rifle.  His  head  was  bent  slightly  down,  and 
when  I  saw  the  top  of  the  white  head  fairly 
between  the  small,  glittering,  evil  eyes,  I  pulled 
trigger.  Half  rising  up,  the  huge  beast  fell  over 
on  his  side  in  the  death-throes,  the  ball  having 
gone  into  his  brain,  striking  as  fairly  between 
the  eyes  as  if  the  distance  had  been  measured 
by  a  carpenter's  rule.  The  whole  thing  was  over 
in  twenty  seconds  from  the  time  I  sighted  the 
game." 

There  come  times,  however,  when  the  hunter 


114  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

becomes  the  hunted— a  circumstance  that  has 
been  noted  by  pursuers  of  big  game  in  other 
lands.  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  enjoyed  the  distinction 
of  even  this  experience.  It  is  pretty  well  con 
ceded  by  sportsmen  generally  that  of  all  animals 
on  this  continent  the  one  most  dangerous  is  a 
grizzly  bear  when  wounded.  Few  men,  in  such 
trial,  have  escaped  with  their  lives.  It  is  still 
more  remarkable  to  have  come  away  scatheless. 
And  yet  that  was  the  good  fortune  of  this  man ; 
and  the  story  cannot  be  better  told  than  in  the 
language  which  he  has  himself  employed  in 
describing  the  adventure. 

"I  held  true,  aiming  behind  the  shoulder," 
he  says  in  the  course  of  his  report  of  a  hunt  in 
Idaho,  "and  my  bullet  shattered  the  point  or 
lower  end  of  his  heart,  taking  out  a  big  nick. 
Instantly  the  great  bear  turned  with  a  hoarse 
roar  of  fury  and  challenge,  blowing  the  bloody 
foam  from  his  mouth,  so  that  I  saw  the  gleam  of 
his  white  fangs;  and  then  he  charged  straight 
at  me,  crashing  and  bounding  through  the  laurel 
bushes,  so  that  it  was  hard  to  aim.  I  waited  till 
he  came  to  a  fallen  tree,  raking  him  as  he  topped 
it,  with  a  ball  which  entered  his  chest  and  went 
through  the  cavity  of  his  body;  but  he  neither 


RANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  115 

swerved  nor  flinched,  and  at  the  moment  I  did 
not  know  that  I  had   struck  him.     He   came 
steadily  on,  and  in  another  moment  was  almost 
upon  me.    I  fired  for  his  forehead,  but  my  bullet 
went  low,  smashing  his  lower  jaw  and  going  into 
the  neck.    I  leaped  to  one  side  almost  as  I  pulled 
the  trigger ;  and  through  the  hanging  smoke  the 
first  thing  I  saw  was  his  paw,  as  he  made  a 
vicious  side  blow  at  me.    The  rush  of  his  charge 
carried  him  past.    As  he  struck  he  lurched  for 
ward,  leaving  a  pool  of  bright  blood  where  his 
muzzle  hit  the  ground ;  but  he  recovered  himself 
and  made  two  or  three  jumps  onward,  while  I 
hurriedly  jammed  a  couple  of  cartridges  into  the 
magazine,  my  rifle  holding  but  four,  all  of  which 
I  had  fired.    Then  he  tried  to  pull  up ;  but  as  he 
did  so,  his  muscles  seemed  suddenly  to  give  way, 
his  head  drooped,  and  he  rolled  over  and  over 
like  a  shot  rabbit.    Each  of  my  first  two  bullets 
had  inflicted  a  mortal  wound. ' ' 

It  has  all  the  thrill  of  an  excerpt  from  the 
journal  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  with  the  simple 
directness  of  narration  which  might  be  expected 
from  a  man  who  appreciated  the  peril  he  had 
been  in,  and  was  too  sensible  for  boasting. 

Thrilling  as  are  the  stories,  however,  it  is  cer- 


116  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

tain  that  hunting  did  not  make  up  the  bulk  of 
activity  in  ranching.    The  cattle  ranged  pretty 
much  at  will  over  mountain,  valley  and  plain, 
the  cowboys  keeping  track  of  them  with  a  sagac 
ity  that  did  not  embrace  the  labor  of  counting, 
and  with  a  care  which  protected  the  stock  at 
night,  and  in  case  of  storms.    The  ponies  were 
of  the  small,  wiry  kind  which  move  quickly,  and 
can  turn  like  a  flash  in  the  process  of  "  cutting 
out"  a  steer  or  cow  from  a  herd  where  it  does 
not  belong.     The  exigencies  of  the  cattle  busi 
ness  rendered  necessary  the  presence  of  eighty 
ponies  on  Mr.  Roosevelt's  two  ranches.    Besides 
these  were  a  number  of  larger  horses,  for  the  use 
of  the  owner  or  the  foreman.    There  was  plenty 
of  work,  and  every  day  brought  its  cares.    In 
the  branding  season  there  was  scarcely  any  rest, 
night  or  day,  for  the  riding  was  hard,  and  almost 
incessant.    But  Mr.  Roosevelt  seemed  to  thrive 
on  the  open  air  and  the  exercise,  and  always 
returned  from  his  trips  to  his  ranches  greatly 
improved  in  health,  and  with  added  zest  for  the 
activities  of  the  more  populous  East. 

Some  idea  of  his  life  on  the  ranch  will  be  of 
interest  to  the  reader.  It  was  a  type  of  the  habit 
and  occupation  of  all  engaged  in  similar  enter- 


RANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  117 

prises,  with  the  exception  that  the  interior  of  his 
ranch  house  bore  some  evidences  of  a  taste  and 
training,  some  reminders  of  another  environ 
ment,  which  were  almost  unknown  in  the  homes 
of  cattle  men  in  the  Bad  Lands.  His  house— the 
one  chosen  and  occupied  as  his  residence— stood 
on  the  brink  of  the  Little  Missouri  river.  From 
the  low,  long  veranda,  shaded  by  leafy  cotton- 
woods,  one  could  look  across  sand-bars  and  shal 
lows  to  a  strip  of  meadow  land,  behind  which 
rose  a  line  of  sheer  cliffs  and  grassy  plateaus. 
The  veranda  was  a  pleasant  place  in  the  summer 
evenings,  when  a  cool  breeze  stirred  along  the 
river,  and  blew  in  the  faces  of  the  tired  men. 

The  one-story  house  of  hewn  logs  was  clean 
and  neat,  with  many  rooms,  so  that  each  member 
of  the  household  might  be  alone  if  he  wished  it. 
The  nights,  even  in  summer,  were  cool  and 
pleasant,  and  there  were  plenty  of  bearskins 
and  buffalo  robes,  many  of  them  trophies  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  own  skill  with  the  rifle;  and  with 
these  one  might  bid  defiance  even  to  the  bitter 
cold  of  winter.  In  all  seasons,  when  at  the 
ranch,  he  was  visited  by  friends  from  the  East; 
and  in  winter  the  long  evenings  were  spent  sit 
ting  around  the  great  fireplace  where  the  pine 


118  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

logs  roared  and  crackled.  Rifles  stood  in  the 
corners  of  the  room,  or  rested  across  elk  antlers 
which  jutted  from  over  the  fireplace.  Heavy 
overcoats  of  wolf-skin  or  coon-skin,  and  caps 
and  gauntlets  made  from  the  fur  of  otter  or 
beaver,  hung  from  deer  horns  ranged  along  the 
wall,  or  thrust  into  beams  and  rafters. 

The  traveler  across  those  plains,  which 
seemed  like  desolate  wastes,  would  expect  no 
entertainment  further  than  food  and  lodging, 
even  at  the  most  pretentious  of  ranches.  But 
in  this  home  of  the  Harvard  man  there  were 
books  of  the  best,  magazines  from  Eastern  cities, 
and  newspapers  from  every  capital  in  Europe. 
The  mail-carrier  did  not  come  daily,  and  was 
not  entirely  certain  to  arrive  within  the  interval 
of  a  week.  But  when  he  did  come,  he  was  very 
certain  to  bring  letters  from  prominent  men  in 
every  section  of  the  nation ;  the  freshest  product 
of  the  great  publishers,  and  pictures  that  could 
enlighten  the  gloom  of  any  home.  ' '  Eough  board 
shelves, "  says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  in  his  charming 
1 1  Hunting  Trips  of  a  Ranchman, ' ' ' '  hold  a  num 
ber  of  books  without  which  some  of  the  evenings 
would  be  long  indeed.  No  ranchman  who  loves 
sport' '—and  nearly  every  one  of  them  does— 


RANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  119 

"can  afford  to  be  without  Van  Dyke's  e Still 
Hunter/  Dodge's  ' Plains  of  the  Great  West/  or 
Caton's  'Deer  and  Antelope  of  America';   and 
Coues'  ' Birds  of  the  Northwest'  will  be  valued 
if  he  cares  at  all  for  natural  history.    As  for 
Irving,   Hawthorne,   Cooper,   Lowell,   and   the 
other  standbys,  I  suppose  no  man,  either  East 
or  West,  would  willingly  be  long  without  them. 
And  for  lighter  reading  there  are  dreamy  Ik 
Marvel,    Burroughs'    breezy    pages,    and    the 
quaint,  pathetic  character  sketches  of  the  South 
ern    writers— Cable,    Craddock,    Macon,    Joel 
Chandler  Harris,  and  sweet  Sherwood  Bonner. 
And  when  one  is  in  the  Bad  Lands,  he  feels  as  if 
they  somehow  look  just  exactly  as  Poe's  tales 
and  poems  sound. ' ' 

There  is  a  picture  of  the  inner  life  of  the 
man  while  engaged  in  a  vocation  that  seems 
little  related  to  the  finer  sensibilities.  It  may 
be  this  home  was  not  typical  of  the  ranches 
in  general;  and  yet,  since  the  men  engaged  in 
business  there  were  for  the  most  part  men  of 
means,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  refinements 
of  life  elsewhere,  it  is  likely  this  view  of  Chim 
ney  Butte  in  some  fair  measure  typifies  the 
domestic  provision  of  the  ranchmen  in  general. 


120  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

But  it  accentuates  this  fact:   A  man  carries 
his  character  with  him.    And  it  seems  to  have 
been  impossible  for  this  man  to  leave  behind  him 
at  any  time  the  bond  that  holds  the  true  Amer 
ican  to  the  interests  and  activities  of  the  nation. 
An  effect  of  it  was  that  when  he  returned  to  the 
East,  it  was  by  no  means  the  coming  from  the 
banishment   that   his    friends   there   imagined. 
They  had  little  of  importance  to  tell  him.    He 
had  kept  pace  with  events,  as  they  had ;  and  even 
the  comment  of  the  world  was  in  his  possession. 
It  may  have  been  a  wise  dispensation  of-Provi- 
dence  which  denied  large  financial  returns  to  the 
men  who  risked  such  fortunes,  and  expended 
such  effort  in  developing  the  cattle  country  of  the 
Northwest.    There  is  just  a  possibility  that  much 
prosperity  would  have  diverted  Mr.  Eoosevelt,  at 
least  for  some  years,  from  these  public  labors 
in  his  native  State  which  came  to  make  up  so 
much  of  his  subsequent  life.    But,  in  any  event, 
neither  the  distance  from  the  center  of  govern 
ment  nor  the  exactions  of  ranch  life  left  a  void 
in  his  career.    He  must  have  been  an  exceed 
ingly  industrious  man;    for  in  the  years  while 
there  in  the  Bad  Lands,  he  did  much  of  the  writ 
ing  which  has  proved  him  a  master  of  composi- 


BUSTING"  A  BRONCHO 


KANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  121 

tion,  as  well  as  a  man  of  the  most  tireless  action. 
As  in  the  case  of  all  new  countries,  there  was 
a  very  lax  moral  code  in  the  Bad  Lands  at  the 
time  Mr.  Roosevelt  established  himself  there  as 
a  ranchman.  It  had  been  the  habit  of  some 
cowboys  to  drive  into  the  herds  they  were  keep 
ing  any  stray  cattle  they  encountered  in  riding 
about  the  range ;  and  it  was  equally  the  habit  of 
some  ranchmen,  even  with  knowledge  of  this 
irregular  possession,  to  accept  the  "  findings " 
and  have  the  animals  branded  as  their  own. 

One  of  the  first  rules  enunciated  by  Mr. 
Eoosevelt  was  that  his  cowboys  would  not  be 
permitted  to  "  rustle. "  That  is,  they  should  not 
permit  cattle  not  his  own  to  come  into  his  herds. 
He  was  very  positive  about  this,  and  his  riders 
acted  accordingly.  But  there  was  another  rule, 
equally  positive.  He  would  permit  no  man  to 
take  cattle  belonging  to  him.  The  habit  had 
become  too  well  established  for  instant  breaking, 
and  his  stock  continued  to  be  stolen.  He  estab 
lished  one  case  very  clearly,  and  with  one  of  his 
men  rode  two  weeks  straight  after  the  two  cul 
prits  who  had  robbed  him,  captured  them, 
brought  them  back  to  Medora,  and  sent  both  to 
the  penitentiary  at  Mandan. 


122  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  "rustling"  in  the 
Bad  Lands.  He  established  a  better  grade  of 
morals  than  had  existed  before;  and  he  quick 
ened  the  sense  of  respect  for  law  and  order 
throughout  the  whole  cattle  country. 

As  to  the  details  of  ranch  work,  he  has  him 
self  left  a  sufficient  record.  In  one  of  his  vol 
umes  he  gives  a  most  graphic  description  of  the 
now  almost  forgotten  "round-up."  "A  ranch 
man  is  kept  busy  most  of  the  time,  but  his  hard 
est  work  comes  with  the  spring  and  fall  round 
ups,  when  the  calves  are  branded,  or  the  beeves 
gathered  for  market.  Our  round-up  district 
includes  the  Beaver  and  Little  Beaver  creeks. 
All  the  ranches  along  the  line  of  these  two  creeks, 
and  the  river  spaces  between,  join  in  sending 
from  one  to  four  men  to  the  round-up,  each  man 
taking  eight  ponies ;  and  for  every  six  or  seven 
men  there  will  be  a  four-horse  wagon  to  carry 
the  blankets  and  mess  kit.  The  whole,  including 
perhaps  forty  or  fifty  cowboys,  is  under  the  head 
of  one  first-class  foreman,  styled  the  captain  of 
the  round-up. 

"Beginning  at  one  end  of  the  line,  the  cow 
boys,  divided  into  small  parties,  scour  the  neigh 
boring  country,  and  in  the  evening  come  to  the 


BANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  123 

appointed  place  with  all  the  cattle  they  have  seen. 
This  big  herd,  together  with  the  pony  herd,  is 
guarded  and  watched  all  night,  and  driven  dur 
ing  the  day.  At  each  home  ranch,  where  there  is 
always  a  large  corral  fitted  for  the  purpose, 
all  the  cattle  of  that  brand  are  cut  out  from  the 
rest  of  the  herd,  which  is  to  continue  its  journey, 
and  the  cows  and  calves  are  driven  into  the  cor 
ral,  where  the  latter  are  roped,  thrown  and 
branded. 

"Cutting  out  cattle,  next  to  managing  a 
stampeded  herd  at  night,  is  that  part  of  the  cow 
boy  's  work  needing  the  boldest  and  most  skilful 
horsemanship.  A  young  heifer  or  steer  is  very 
loath  to  leave  the  herd,  always  tries  to  break 
back  into  it,  can  run  like  a  deer,  and  can  dodge 
like  a  rabbit.  But  a  thorough  cattle-pony  enjoys 
the  work  as  much  as  its  rider,  and  follows  the 
beast  like  a  four-footed  fate  through  every  dou 
ble  and  turn.  "When  the  work  is  over  for  the  day, 
the  men  gather  around  the  fire  for  an  hour  or 
two  to  sing  songs,  talk,  smoke  and  tell  stories. 
And  he  who  has  a  good  voice,  or  better  still,  can 
play  the  fiddle  or  banjo,  is  sure  to  receive  his 
meed  of  most  sincere  homage." 

The  ranchman  and  the  cowboy,  as  these  were 


124  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

known  twenty  to  thirty  years  ago,  have  passed 
away.  The  great  ranges  have  been  cut  into 
smaller  holdings,  and  railways  run  through  most 
of  the  regions  where  formerly  herds  of  thousands 
found  their  food  in  summer,  and  their  shelter  in 
winter.  No  great  fortunes  will  ever  again  be 
invested  in  that  enterprise,  as  was  the  case  from 
1875  to  1885.  In  a  smaller  way,  and  with  more 
modest  requirements  as  to  invested  capital,  it 
will  continue  indefinitely.  But  the  old  regime 
has  passed  away  in  Montana  as  effectively  as  in 
Kansas  or  Nebraska.  The  round-up  has  become 
a  thing  of  the  past— in  any  large  and  impressive 
sense.  But  there  will  be  no  better  description  of 
it  written  than  this  by  a  man  who  learned  the 
business  from  beginning  to  end,  who  mastered  it, 
who  drew  from  it  all  the  pleasures  and  benefits 
it  could  afford,  and  who  saw  and  appreciated 
every  graphic  and  interesting  detail  in  its  cate 
gory. 

For  one  thing,  Mr.  Roosevelt's  life  as  a 
ranchman  in  the  Bad  Lands  afforded  him  some 
practical  ideas  on  the  much-mooted  Indian  ques 
tion.  It  has  been  a  part  of  his  good  fortune, 
apparently,  to  find  in  the  phases  of  a  varied 


BANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  125 

experience  some  actual  data  which  will  prove 
useful  in  his  present  larger  public  career. 

When  his  cattle  came  to  the  Little  Missouri 
country,  the  region  was  inhabited  by  less  than  a 
score  of  white  hunters,  and  a  good  many  Indians 
ranged  across  the  plains  at  all  times,  and  in  every 
direction.  The  title  of  the  white  hunters  was 
certainly  as  good  as  that  of  the  Indians  to  the 
lands  claimed  by  the  latter.  Yet  nobody  dreamed 
of  asserting  that  the  white  hunters  owned  the 
country,  or  that  they  could  hold  it  against  the 
advance  of  subsequent  settlers.  Each  could  have 
filed  his  claim  to  a  quarter-section  of  land— 160 
acres— under  the  laws  of  the  nation,  and  might 
have  held  that  much  against  any  imaginable 
power.  But  there  was  no  reason  for  his  monopo 
lizing  more.  "And,"  Mr.  Eoosevelt  declares, 
"the  Indians  should  be  treated  in  just  the 
same  way  that  we  treat  the  white  settlers.  Give 
each  his  claim  to  a  quarter-section.  If,  as 
generally  happens,  he  should  decline  this,  then 
let  him  share  the  fate  of  the  thousands  of  white 
hunters  who  have  lived  on  the  game  that  the  set 
tlement  of  the  country  has  exterminated,  and  let 
him,  like  these  whites  who  will  not  work,  perish 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  which  he  encumbers. 


126  THEODOKE    EOOSEVELT. 

The  doctrine  seems  merciless,  and  so  it  is.  But 
it  is  just  and  rational,  for  all  that.  It  does  not 
do  to  be  too  merciful  to  the  few  at  the  cost  of 
justice  to  the  many.  The  cattlemen  at  least  keep 
herds  and  build  houses  on  the  land.  Yet  I  would 
not  for  a  moment  debar  settlers  from  the  right  of 
entry  to  the  cattle  country,  though  their  coming 
in  means  the  destruction  of  us  and  our  industry. ' ' 

There  is  a  rugged  justice  in  the  sentiment, 
and  a  proof  of  disinterestedness  which  adds  to 
the  weight  of  the  principle  enunciated. 

The  profits  in  the  business  were  at  first  very 
great;  and  the  chances  for  losses  were  great 
as  well.  One  winter  of  unusual  severity  would 
work  sad  havoc  among  the  cattle,  particularly 
the  young  heifers;  and  a  peculiar  disease  was 
likely  to  attack  the  herd,  destroying  thousands  in 
a  week.  But  the  cost  of  producing  beef,  when 
carried  on  as  it  was  then,  was  very  small.  The 
charge  for  freight  from  the  upper  Missouri 
country  to  the  market  at  Chicago  or  Omaha  made 
up  the  largest  item.  There  were  no  stables  for 
that  complete  shelter  which  a  farmer  of  the  mid 
dle  country,  or  the  East,  would  understand  by 
the  work.  The  investment  was  chiefly  for  wages 
paid  to  cowboys;  and  these  were  never  very 


EANCHING    IN    THE    BAD    LANDS.  127 

large.  So  that  fortunes  were  gathered  in  ranch 
ing.  But  it  is  significant  that  there  are  no  cattle 
kings,  even  in  the  country  where  the  cattle  indus 
try  has  been  most  largely  followed.  The  woods 
of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  have  produced  lum 
ber  kings;  the  hills  of  Idaho  and  Nevada  and 
half  a  dozen  other  States  have  presented  mining 
kings  to  the  nation,  and  the  sugar  kings  and 
kings  of  various  other  industries  abound  every 
where.  But  the  cattle  king  has  been  always  a 
star  of  brief  shining,  and  his  domain  has  never 
been  an  extensive  one.  He  did  a  great  deal  in 
the  development  of  the  frontier  country,  and  con 
tributed  much  to  the  food  supply  of  the  world. 
But  he  did  pretty  well,  as  a  general  rule,  if  he 
took  out  of  the  business  as  much  as  he  put  in— 
and  enjoyed  life  while  the  occupation  lasted. 

As  for  Mr.  Koosevelt's  experience  in  ranch 
life,  it  can  only  be  said  that  he  was  most  happy 
in  it,  and  that  while  it  did  not  add  greatly  to  his 
fortunes,  it  did  not  entail  a  failure.  It  came  at 
a  period  in  his  life— perhaps  the  only  one  he 
could  have  found— when  he  had  the  time  for  it; 
when  it  fitted  into  the  rounding  and  filling  of 
his  personality.  In  some  measure  it  contained 
the  elements  of  a  special  wisdom,  of  which  he 


128  THEODOBE    KOOSEVELT. 

seems  to  have  taken  advantage,  and  it  withdrew 
him  so  far  from  "the  madding  crowd "  that  he 
had  opportunity  for  much  writing  which  his 
countrymen  have  very  keenly  enjoyed. 

His  "Ranch  Life  in  the  Bad  Lands "  was  one 
of  his  most  valuable  ventures. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

KOOSEVELT   AS   AN   ATJTHOK. 

FIRST  AUTHOR  TO  BECOME  PRESIDENT  —  BEGINNING  AS  EDITOR 
OF  HIS  COLLEGE  PAPER,  HE  DEVELOPS  STRIKING  LITERARY 
TALENT  —  SUCCESS  OF  HIS  FIRST  WORK,  ( '  NAVAL  WAR  OF 
1812,"  "WINNING  OF  THE  WEST,"  "THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE 
AND  OTHER  ESSAYS,  "  ' '  OLIVER  CROMWELL  '  '—A  VOLUMINOUS 

WRITER. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  America 
an  author  is  at  the  head  of  the  Government,— an 
author,  too,  of  whom  the  country  may  well  be 
proud.  It  lends  a  radiance  to  letters  in  the  new 
world  to  have  for  the  first  citizen  of  the  land  a 
man  who  is  not  only  a  statesman  and  a  historian 
but  a  poet  as  well,  for  in  all  his  writings  Mr. 
Eoosevelt  discovers  that  broad  comprehension 
and  deep  sympathy  with  nature  in  all  its  forms 
that  is  the  delight  of  the  poet  and  is  possessed  by 
him  alone.  It  is  astonishing  that  one  who  has 
taken  such  an  active  part  in  the  political  life  of 
the  nation,  as  well  as  that  of  his  native  State  and 
city,  should  have  found  time  to  produce  so  many 
volumes  on  subjects  requiring  great  research  as 
well  as  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  histories  of 

129 


130  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

many  governments  and  the  lives  of  many  peo 
ples.  Not  only  has  Mr.  Eoosevelt  in  the  "Win 
ning  of  the  West"  given  to  the  world  the  best 
record  of  the  settlement  and  development  of 
America,  but  he  has  written  into  the  pages  of 
that  splendid  work  the  very  spirit  of  the  nation 
and  illumined  the  stirring  drama  of  the  settle 
ment  of  these  States  with  the  glory  of  sublime 
patriotism  which  cannot  fail  to  have  a  marked 
influence  on  the  minds  of  the  coming  genera 
tions. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  the  historian 
should  be  one  in  whom  the  faculty  of  the  imagi 
nation  was  almost,  if  not  entirely,  lacking.  These 
critics  hold  that  history  should  be  a  colorless 
record  of  facts  as  they  transpired,  and  that  the 
thought  of  the  author  should  have  no  place  in 
the  record  of  the  times  he  would  portray.  If  this 
be  the  true  criterion  by  which  a  historian  is  to 
be  judged,  then  is  Mr.  Eoosevelt  going  far  afield 
when  he  sets  himself  to  write  history.  His  mind 
is  so  active  and  his  thought  so  positive  that  the 
compilation  of  facts  and  dates  without  their 
accompanying  significance  would  repel  him  in 
the  same  measure  that  he  is  attracted  by  fierce 
battles  on  sea  and  land,  and  the  individual  in- 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  131 

stances  of  heroism  and  devotion.  It  is  this  fac 
ulty  of  the  imagination  that  places  Mr.  Roose 
velt's  writings  on  American  subjects  in  the  front 
rank  of  all  our  country's  records  and  gives  to  his 
descriptions  of  frontier  life  a  genuine  value. 
Much  that  he  has  written  has  its  foundation  in 
actual  experience,  and  he  describes  these  events 
with  a  fidelity  to  nature  and  a  dramatic  power 
that  must  thrill  the  dullest  reader,  while  to  those 
who  are  familiar  with  the  scenes  and  actions 
which  make  up  the  greater  part  of  his  books  on 
the  Far  West,  his  writings  have  an  indescribable 
fascination. 

For  a  man  who  is  still  young  Mr.  Roosevelt 
has  a  large  number  of  books  to  his  credit.  He 
has  been  barely  twenty  years  out  of  college. 
Sixteen  of  these  years  he  has  spent  in  active  and 
laborious  public  service.  A  man  who  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  Civil-Service  Com 
missioner,  President  of  the  Police  Board  of  New 
York,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and 
President,  all  within  a  score  of  years,  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  be  a  voluminous  writer. 
But  in  that  period  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  published 
a  half  a  dozen  serious  works  on  history  and  biog 
raphy,  three  original  works  on  hunting  and 


132  THEODOBE    KOOSEVELT. 

ranch  life,  a  history  of  the  "Rough  Eiders "  and 
several  volumes  of  essays  of  high  character  and 
permanent  value. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  first  venture  in  the  field  of 
letters  (aside  from  a  share  in  college  journal 
ism)  was  made  in  1882,  just  two  years  after  his 
graduation  from  Harvard,  and  while  he  was  a 
member  of  the  assembly  of  New  York  State. 
The  theme  chosen  gives  an  insight  into  the  char 
acter  of  the  man  on  the  threshold  of  a  career  that 
was  eventually  to  terminate  in  the  White  House. 
He  was  a  born  patriot,  and  the  dash  and  pluck 
of  the  American  seamen  must  have  appealed 
strongly  to  the  fighting  side  of  his  nature.  His 
first  work,  a  history  of  "The  Naval  War  of 
1812,"  found  a  ready  response  among  the  men 
who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  for  the  honor 
of  their  country 's  flag,  and  the  book  at  once  took 
high  rank  among  the  treatises  of  its  kind.  The 
demand  was  such  as  to  warrant  the  appearance 
of  a  third  edition  within  a  year,  enlarged  by  a 
chapter  describing  Jackson's  victory  at  New 
Orleans.  Of  this  second  edition  Mr.  W.  P.  Trent, 
writing  in  the  Forum  for  July,  1896,  says: 
' '  This  added  chapter  and  certain  remarks  in  the 
new  preface  are  more  important  to  the  critic  of 


AS    AN    AUTHOE.  133 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  work  than  all  the  rest  of  his 
interesting  book,  for  they  show  that  thus  early 
the  theme  of  his  greatest  work— the  career  and 
prowess  of  the  Western  frontiersman— had  laid 
fast  hold  upon  his  imagination. ' ' 

This  chapter  deals  with  the  victory  of  Jack 
son  and  his  Tennesseeans  at  New  Orleans.  The 
author's  style  here  shows  all  the  vigor,  fluency 
and  epigrammatic  strength  which  has  become 
so  characteristic  of  his  later  utterances.  It  is  a 
chapter  that  must  be  consulted  by  every  student 
of  American  history  who  wishes  to  understand 
what  is  likely  to  always  remain  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  feats  of  arms  of  a  nation  rich  in  such 
exploits.  The  nervous  force  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
style  found  room  for  full  play  in  the  description 
of  this  great  and  brilliant  battle  whose  story  will 
ever  be  a  stimulus  to  the  lovers  of  heroic  deeds. 

In  the  closing  paragraph  of  this  chapter  of 
his  naval  history  the  author  pays  the  following 
tribute  to  General  Jackson:  "The  American 
soldiers  deserve  great  credit  for  doing  so  well, 
but  greater  credit  still  belongs  to  Andrew  Jack 
son,  who,  with  his  cool  head  and  quick  eye,  his 
stout  heart  and  strong  hand,  stands  out  in  history 
as  the  ablest  general  the  United  States  produced 


134  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

from  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  down  to 
the  beginning  of  the  Great  Rebellion."  Such 
unqualified  praise  is  rare  in  the  writings  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt.  He  is  an  unusually  outspoken  critic, 
and  often  deals  savagely  with  characters  that 
have  become  the  idols  of  other  American  writers. 
But  his  admiration  for  the  famous  Indian-fighter 
is  unbounded.  He  describes  the  opening  of  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans  as  follows  :  "On  the  8th 
of  December,  1814,  the  foremost  vessels  of  the 
British  fleet,  among  their  number  the  great  two- 
decker  Tonnant,  carrying  the  admiral's  flag, 
anchored  off  the  Chandeleur  Islands;  and  as 
the  current  of  the  Mississippi  was  too  strong  to 
be  easily  breasted,  the  English  leaders  deter 
mined  to  bring  their  men  by  boats  through  the 
bayous  and  disembark  them  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  ten  miles  below  the  wealthy  city  at  whose 
capture  they  were  aiming.  There  was  but  one 
thing  to  prevent  the  success  of  this  plan,  and  that 
was  the  presence  in  the  bayous  of  five  American 
gunboats,  manned  by  a  hundred  and  eighty  men 
and  commanded  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
Catesby  Jones,  a  very  shrewd  fighter.  So  against 
him  was  sent  Captain  Nicholas  Lockyer  with 
forty-five  barges  and  nearly  a  thousand  sailors 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  135 

and  marines.  .  .  .  The  British  rowed  up 
with  strong,  swift  strokes  through  a  murderous 
fire  of  great  guns  and  musketry;  the  vessels 
were  grappled  amid  fierce  resistance ;  the  board 
ing-nettings  were  slashed  through  and  cut  away 
with  furious  fighting  and  the  decks  were  gained ; 
and  one  by  one,  at  push  of  pike  and  cutlass 
stroke,  the  gunboats  were  carried  in  spite  of  their 
stubborn  defenders;  but  not  till  more  than  one 
ba^rge  had  been  sunk,  while  the  assailants  had  lost 
a  hundred  men,  and  the  assailed  about  half  as 
many. 

'  <  There  was  now  nothing  to  hinder  the  land 
ing  of  the  troops;  and  as  the  scattered  trans 
ports  arrived,  the  soldiers  disembarked  and  fer 
ried  through  the  sluggish  water  of  the  bayous 
on  small  flat-bottomed  craft ;  and  finally,  Decem 
ber  23d,  the  advance-guard,  two  thousand  strong, 
under  General  Keane,  emerged  at  the  mouth  of 
the  canal  Villere  and  camped  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  but  nine  miles  below  New  Orleans,  which 
now  seemed  a  certain  prize,  almost  within  their 
grasp. 

"  Yet,  although  a  mighty  and  cruel  foe  was  at 
their  very  gates,  nothing  save  fierce  defiance 
reigned  in  the  fiery  Creole  hearts  of  the  Crescent 


136  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

City,  for  a  master  spirit  was  in  their  midst. 
Andrew  Jackson,  having  utterly  broken  and 
destroyed  the  most  powerful  Indian  confederacy 
that  had  ever  menaced  the  Southwest,  and  hav 
ing  driven  the  haughty  Spaniards  from  Pensa- 
cola,  was  now  bending  all  the  energies  of  his 
rugged  intellect  and  indomitable  will  to  the  one 
object  of  defending  New  Orleans.  No  man  could 
have  been  better  fitted  for  the  task.  He  had 
hereditary  wrongs  to  avenge  on  the  British,  and 
he  hated  them  with  an  implacable  fury  that  was 
absolutely  devoid  of  fear.  Born  and  brought 
up  among  the  lawless  characters  of  the  frontier, 
and  knowing  well  how  to  deal  with  them,  he  was 
able  to  establish  and  preserve  the  strictest  martial 
law  in  the  city  without  in  the  least  quelling  the 
spirit  of  the  citizens.  To  a  restless  and  untiring 
energy  he  united  sleepless  vigilance  and  unques 
tioned  military  genius.  Prompt  to  attack  when 
ever  the  chance  offered  itself,  seizing  with  ready 
grasp  the  slightest  vantage-ground,  and  never 
giving  up  a  foot  of  earth  that  he  could  keep,  he 
yet  had  the  patience  to  play  a  defensive  game 
when  it  suited  him,  and  with  consummate  skill  he 
always  followed  out  the  scheme  of  warfare  that 
was  best  adapted  to  his  wild  soldiery.  In  after 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  137 

years  he  did  to  his  country  some  good  and  more 
evil;  bnt  no  true  American  can  think  of  his 
deeds  at  New  Orleans  without  profound  and 
unmixed  thankfulness. ' ' 

Mr.  Koosevelt's  description  of  the  troops  is 
not  less  vivid  and  characteristic  than  this  of 
their  chief.  He  says:  "Jackson's  forces  were 
small.  There  were  two  war- vessels  in  the  river. 
One  was  the  little  schooner  Carolina,  manned  by 
regular  seamen,  largely  New  Englanders.  The 
other  was  the  newly  built  ship  Louisiana,  a  pow 
erful  corvette ;  she  had  no  regular  crew,  and  her 
officers  were  straining  every  nerve  to  get  one 
from  the  varied  ranks  of  the  maritime  popula 
tion  of  New  Orleans;  long-limbed  and  hardy- 
visaged  Yankees,  Portuguese  and  Norwegian 
seamen  from  foreign  merchantmen,  dark-skinned 
Spaniards  from  the  West  Indies,  swarthy 
Frenchmen  who  had  served  under  the  bold  pri- 
vateersman  Laffitte— all  alike  were  taken,  and 
all  alike  by  unflagging  exertions  were  got  into 
shape  for  battle.  There  were  two  regiments  of 
regulars,  numbering  about  eight  hundred  men, 
raw  and  not  very  well  disciplined,  but  who  were 
drilled  with  great  care  and  regularity.  In  addi 
tion  to  this  Jackson  raised  somewhat  over  a  thou- 


138  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

sand  militiamen  among  the  citizens.  There  were 
some  Americans  among  them,  but  they  were 
mostly  French  Creoles,  and  one  band  had  in  its 
formation  something  that  was  curiously  pathetic. 
It  was  composed  of  free  men  of  color,  who  had 
gathered  to  defend  the  land  which  kept  the  men 
of  their  race  in  slavery;  who  were  to  shed  their 
blood  for  the  flag  that  symbolized  to  their  kind 
not  freedom  but  bondage;  who  were  to  die 
bravely  as  freemen,  only  that  their  brethren 
might  live  on  ignobly  as  slaves.  Surely  there  was 
never  a  stranger  instance  than  this  of  the  irony 
of  fate.' ' 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  author,  who 
appreciated  the  tragedy  in  the  act  of  these  free 
negroes,  fighting  for  the  country  that  yet  held 
their  black  brothers  in  bondage,  was  later  to  fight 
beside  their  descendants  for  the  freedom  of  the 
Cubans.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  saw  the 
pathos  of  the  situation  of  the  colored  fighters  at 
New  Orleans  throws  a  side-light  on  the  tender 
ness  of  the  man's  nature,  a  quality  in  his  char 
acter  that  has  been  lost  sight  of  in  his  robust 
activity.  That  he  has  always  believed  in  the 
right  of  all  men  to  freedom  is  unquestioned,  and 
that  he  has  recognized  as  much  as  any  other  man 


AS    AN    AUTHOK.  139 

the  true  brotherhood  of  men  is  clear,  but  those 
unfamiliar  with  his  private  life  and  thought  will 
find  something  new  to  admire  in  the  man  who  was 
so  ready  to  recognize  at  a  glance  an  exhibition  of 
nobility  in  the  slave  race  of  America  at  a  time 
when  a  large  portion  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  favored  the  extension  of  slavery, 
and  the  major  portion  of  the  remainder  held  no 
pronounced  convictions  either  way.  Mr.  Roose 
velt  has  lived  in  an  era  of  great  events,  the  great 
est  that  have  ever  occurred  during  the  life  of  one 
man.  He  has  seen  a  nation  lay  down  a  million 
of  lives  and  billions  of  treasure  to  establish  the 
fact  that  the  little  handful  of  negroes  under 
General  Jackson  had  a  right  to  bear  arms  under 
the  stars  and  stripes;  he  has  seen  that  nation 
send  an  unconquerable  fleet  and  an  army  of  its 
bravest  soldiers  against  a  foreign  foe  to  perfect 
that  principle  in  its  establishment,  and  he  has 
lived  to  take  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  nation 
which  has  had  the  spirit  to  make  these  sacri 
fices. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  power  of  graphic  descrip 
tion,  as  well  as  his  wonderful  insight  into  the 
character  of  men  is  further  exemplified  in  this 
chapter.  Continuing,  he  says :  '  *  But  if  Jackson 


140  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

had  been  forced  to  rely  only  on  these  troops,  New 
Orleans  could  not  have  been  saved.  His  chief 
hope  lay  in  the  volunteers  of  Tennessee,  who, 
under  their  generals,  Coffee  and  Carroll,  were 
pushing  their  toilsome  and  weary  way  toward 
the  city.  Every  effort  was  made  to  hurry  their 
march  through  the  almost  impassable  roads,  and 
at  last,  in  the  very  nick  of  time,  on  the  23d  of 
December,  the  day  on  which  the  British  troops 
reached  the  bank,  the  vanguard  of  the  Tennes- 
seeans  marched  into  New  Orleans.  Gaunt  of 
form  and  grim  of  face ;  with  their  powder-horns 
slung  over  their  buckskin  shirts ;  carrying  their 
long  rifles  on  their  shoulders  and  their  hunting- 
knives  stuck  in  their  belts ;  with  their  coonskin 
caps  and  fringed  leggings ;  thus  came  the  grizzly 
warriors  of  the  backwoods,  the  heroes  of  the 
Horseshoe  Bend,  the  victors  over  Spaniard  and 
Indian,  eager  to  pit  themselves  against  the 
trained  regulars  of  Britain,  and  to  throw  down 
the  gage  of  battle  to  the  world-renowned  infantry 
of  the  island  English.  Accustomed  to  the  most 
lawless  freedom,  and  to  giving  free  rein  to  the 
full  violence  of  their  passions,  defiant  of  disci 
pline  and  impatient  of  the  slightest  restraint, 
caring  little  for  God  and  nothing  for  man,  they 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  141 

were  soldiers  who,  under  an  ordinary  com 
mander,  would  have  been  fully  as  dangerous  to 
themselves  and  their  leaders  as  to  their  foes.  But 
Andrew  Jackson  was  of  all  men  the  one  best 
fitted  to  manage  such  troops.  Even  their  fierce 
natures  quailed  before  the  ungovernable  fury  of 
a  spirit  greater  than  their  own ;  and  their  sullen 
stubborn  wills  were  bent  at  last  before  his 
unyielding  temper  and  iron  hand.  Moreover, 
he  was  one  of  themselves ;  he  typified  their  pas 
sions  and  prejudices,  their  faults  and  their  vir 
tues;  he  shared  their  hardships  as  if  he  had 
been  a  common  private,  and,  in  turn,  he  always 
made  them  partakers  in  his  triumphs.  They 
admired  his  personal  prowess  with  the  pistol  and 
the  rifle,  his  unswerving  loyalty  to  his  friends, 
and  the  relentless  and  unceasing  war  that  he 
waged  alike  on  the  foes  of  himself  and  his  coun 
try.  As  a  result  they  loved  and  feared  him  as 
few  generals  have  ever  been  loved  or  feared; 
they  obeyed  him  unhesitatingly;  they  followed 
his  lead  without  flinching  or  murmuring,  and 
they  made  good  on  the  field  of  battle  the  promise 
their  courage  held  out  to  his  judgment." 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  has  here  not  only  given  an 
excellent  example  of  his  literary  style  at  its  best, 


142  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

but  he  has,  in  his  estimate  of  Jackson,  antici 
pated  a  remarkably  good  drawing  of  himself  and 
his  " Rough  Riders."    At  twenty-three,  writing 
of  these  fighting  frontiersmen,  he  threw  upon  the 
canvas  a  picture  that  with  very  slight  alterations 
might  stand  for  an  illustration  of  the  First  Regi 
ment  of  United  States  Volunteers  in  the  attack  on 
Las  Guasimas.     The  same  qualities  that  gave 
General  Jackson  the  loyal  support  of  the  lawless 
Tennesseeans  made  Roosevelt  the  idol  of  the 
daredevil  spirits  who  crowded  to  the  ranks  of 
his  unique  regiment.    He  was  a  comrade  to  every 
one  of  them  and  took  the  hardships  of  the  cam 
paign  with  an  uncomplaining  good  nature  that 
was  not  outdone  by  the  bravest  and  most  patient 
man  of  command.     He  fought  with  them  and 
with  them  shared  the  honors  of  victory.    And  in 
his  story  of  "The  Rough  Riders"  he  has  never 
intruded  his  own  personality  at  the  expense  of 
any  one  else.    This  is  also  true  of  all  his  writ 
ings  that  deal  with  his  own  experiences,  espe 
cially  of  his  hunting  books.  The  personal  element 
is,  of  course,  prevalent  in  them,  but  it  is  not 
obtrusive  or  out  of  perspective.     There  is  no 
assumption  of  modesty  in  them,  no  affectation  of 
indifference  to  the  writer 's  own  share  in  the  expe- 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  143 

riences  and  observations  recorded.  He  is  quite 
frankly  and  inevitably  the  chief  actor  in  the  tale, 
but  not  at  all  the  hero.  He  takes  his  part  with 
zest,  and  his  personality  lends  a  natural  and  con 
stant  charm  to  every  adventure.  But  he  is 
intensely  interested  in  the  game  he  pursues,  in 
the  country  he  hunts  over,  in  his  companions,  in 
everything  that  presents  itself  to  his  eager  and 
vigorous  mind,  to  his  keen  and  alert  vision. 
"Had  he  done  nothing,"  says  one  of  his  critics, 
"but  write  his  fascinating  hunting  books,  and 
lived  through  the  experiences  they  relate  in  so 
simple  and  winning  style,  he  would  probably  be 
more  widely  known  in  other  lands  than  any  other 
American  save  one  or  two."  Had  he  not 
obscured  his  reputation  as  a  historian  by  his 
industry  in  making  history  he  would  have  a  dis 
tinct  place  in  the  circle  of  American  writers  in 
that  field.  It  remains  true,  however,  that  if  his 
life  had  been  less  full  and  active  his  literary  work 
would  in  all  probability  have  had  less  value,  and 
the  value  would  have  been  less  peculiar. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  is  most  successful  as  a  writer 
when  the  subject  he  has  in  hand  most  completely 
enlists  his  sympathies.  His  histories  and  biogra 
phies  are  best  and  most  interesting  where  they 


144  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

are  the  unconscious  representation  of  the  au 
thor's  mind  and  character.  He  has  no  patience 
with  and  little  charity  for  weakness  of  any  sort, 
and  where  the  weakness  shows  in  a  prominent 
character  he  finds  no  excuse  for  it.  Theorists  are 
his  abomination,  and  he  does  not  stop  to  consider 
words  when  discussing  them.  Of  President  Jef 
ferson  he  says :  * '  Though  a  man  whose  views  and 
theories  had  a  profound  influence  on  our  national 
life,  he  was  perhaps  the  most  incapable  executive 
that  ever  filled  the  presidential  chair;  being 
almost  purely  visionary,  he  was  utterly  unable  to 
grapple  with  the  slightest  actual  danger,  and, 
not  even  excepting  his  successor,  Madison,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  man  less  fit  to 
guide  the  state  with  honor  and  safety  through 
the  stormy  times  that  marked  the  opening  of  the 
present  century. ' ' 

But  in  the  open,  dealing  with  wild  and  pictur 
esque  figures  such  as  the  early  settlers  of  Amer 
ica  and  their  Indian  foes  who  possessed  the  land 
before  them,  Mr.  Roosevelt  becomes  an  actor  in 
the  scenes  he  would  describe,  and  develops  sur 
prising  power  as  a  writer  of  great  force  and 
clearness.  In  "The  Winning  of  the  West"  he 
has  contributed  to  literature  four  volumes  of 


PRESIDENT    ROOSEVELT   ON    HORSEBACK 
Reproduced  from  Leslie's  Weekly.  Copyright  by  Judge  Company,  1901 


AS    AN    AUTHOK.  145 

great  historical  value.  He  feels  the  forces  he 
describes;  he  has  been  in  active  alliance  with 
them;  he  has  known  in  personal  intimacy  the 
survivors  and  present  representatives  of  the  vic 
tors  in  that  mighty  struggle,  and  the  men  who 
are  developing  what  their  ancestors  won.  His 
imagination  is  keen,  his  sympathies  intense,  his 
vision  unclouded.  There  is  a  justness  in  his 
deductions  that  are  often  almost  brutal  in  their 
plainness.  "It  was  impossible, "  he  declares, 
"long  to  keep  peace  on  the  border  between  the 
ever-encroaching  whites  and  their  fickle  and 
bloodthirsty  foes.  The  hard,  reckless,  often 
brutalized  frontiersman,  greedy  of  land  and 
embittered  by  the  memories  of  untold  injuries, 
regarded  all  Indians  with  sullen  enmity,  and 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  distinguish  between 
the  good  and  the  bad.  The  central  government 
was  as  powerless  to  restrain  as  to  protect  these 
far-off  unruly  citizens. ' ' 

Into  this  wilderness,  where  men  were  as 
pitiless  as  the  elements,  and  as  savage  as  the 
beasts  that  roamed  the  forests,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
takes  his  reader  with  a  sweep  of  a  great  dram 
atist  and  holds  him  fast  with  the  graphic  fervor 
of  his  recital.  The  vigorous  personality  of  the 


146  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

writer  gives  to  the  work  its  greatest  charm  and 
most  permanent  value. 

As  an  essayist  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  the  distin 
guishing  feature  of  coining  phrases  that  once 
heard  cannot  be  forgotten.  These  short,  crisp 
sentences  strike  upon  the  ear  like  the  report  of  a 
Gatling  gun  and  force  their  way  into  the  mind 
as  the  leaden  missiles  of  that  savage  little  fight 
ing-machine  force  themselves  into  the  body.  In 
' '  The  Strenuous  Life ' 9  selections  of  this  charac 
ter  may  be  taken  at  random.  Here  are  a  few  of 
the  most  striking : 

"A  life  of  slothful  ease,  a  life  of  that  peace 
which  springs  merely  from  lack  either  of  desire 
or  of  power  to  strive  after  great  things,  is  as 
little  worthy  of  a  nation  as  of  an  individual. ' ' 

'  '  Wisely  used  leisure  merely  means  that  those 
who  possess  it,  being  free  from  the  necessity  of 
working  for  their  livelihood,  are  all  the  more 
bound  to  carry  out  some  kind  of  non-remunera 
tive  work  in  science,  in  letters,  in  art,  in  explora 
tion,  in  historical  research— work  of  the  type  we 
most  need  in  this  country,  the  successful  carrying 
out  of  which  reflects  most  honor  upon  the 
nation. " 


AS    AN    AUTHOK.  147 

"In  the  last  analysis,  a  healthy  state  can  only 
exist  when  the  men  and  women  who  make  it  up 
lead  clean,  healthy,  vigorous  lives. " 

"The  man  must  be  glad  to  do  a  man's  work, 
to  dare  and  to  do  and  to  labor ;  to  keep  himself 
and  to  keep  those  dependent  upon  him.  The 
woman  must  be  the  housewife,  the  helpmeet  of 
the  home-maker,  the  wise  and  fearless  mother 
of  many  healthy  children. ' ' 

' '  When  men  fear  work  or  fear  righteous  war, 
when  women  fear  motherhood,  they  are  on  the 
brink  of  doom;  and  well  it  is  that  they  should 
vanish  from  the  earth,  where  they  are  fit  sub 
jects  for  the  scorn  of  all  men  and  women  who  are 
themselves  strong  and  brave  and  high-minded." 

"  It  is  a  base  untruth  to  say  that  happy  is  the 
nation  that  has  no  history.  Thrice  happy  is  the 
nation  that  has  a  glorious  history.  Far  better  it 
is  to  dare  mighty  things,  to  win  glorious  tri 
umphs,  even  though  checkered  by  failure,  than  to 
take  rank  with  those  poor  spirits  who  neither 
enjoy  much  nor  suffer  much,  because  they  live  in 
the  gray  twilight  that  knows  not  victory  or 
defeat." 

"Thank  God  for  the  iron  in  the  blood  of  our 


148  THEODOEE    EOOSEVELT. 

fathers,  the  men  who  upheld  the  wisdom  of  Lin 
coln,  and  bore  sword  or  rifle  in  the  army  of 
Grant !" 

"If  we  are  to  be  a  really  great  people,  we 
must  strive  in  good  faith  to  play  a  great  part  in 
the  world.  We  cannot  avoid  meeting  great 
issues. ' ' 

1 1  The  timid  man,  the  lazy  man,  the  man  who 
distrusts  his  country,  the  over-civilized  man,  who 
has  lost  the  great,  fighting,  masterful  virtues,  the 
ignorant  man,  and  the  man  of  dull  mind,  whose 
soul  is  incapable  of  feeling  the  mighty  lift  that 
thrills  stern  men  with  empires  in  their  brains— 
all  these,  of  course,  shrink  from  seeing  the  nation 
undertake  its  new  duties. " 

"Let  us  shrink  from  no  strife,  moral  or  phy 
sical,  within  or  without  the  nation,  provided  we 
are  certain  that  the  strife  is  justified,  for  it  is 
only  through  strife,  through  hard  and  dangerous 
endeavor,  that  we  shall  ultimately  win  the  goal 
of  true  national  greatness.'' 

Few  men  have  written  more  intimately,  more 
poetically  or  more  lovingly  of  nature  in  her  vary 
ing  moods  than  Mr.  Eoosevelt.  There  is  a  qual 
ity  of  sympathetic  expression  in  the  following 
description  of  the  heat  of  a  day  observed  from 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  149 

the  veranda  of  a  Western  ranch  house  that  is 
scarcely  paralleled  in  the  language : 

"In  the  hot,  noon- tide  hours  of  midsummer, 
the  broad  ranch  veranda,  always  in  the  shade, 
is  almost  the  only  place  where  a  man  can  be 
comfortable ;  but  here  he  can  sit  for  hours  at  a 
time,  leaning  back  in  his  rocking-chair,  as  he 
reads  or  smokes,  or  with  half-closed,  dreamy 
eyes  gazes  across  the  shallow,  nearly  dry,  river 
bed  to  the  wooded  bottoms  opposite,  and  to  the 
plateaus  lying  back  of  them.  Against  the  sheer 
white  faces  of  the  cliffs,  that  come  down  without 
a  break,  the  dark  green  tree-tops  stand  out  in 
bold  relief.  In  the  hot,  lifeless  air  all  objects 
that  are  not  near  by  seem  to  sway  and  waver. 
There  are  few  sounds  to  break  the  stillness. 
From  the  upper  branches  of  the  cottonwood  trees 
overhead,  whose  shimmering,  tremulous  leaves 
are  hardly  ever  quiet,  but,  if  the  wind  stirs  at  all, 
rustle  and  quiver  and  sigh  all  day  long,  comes 
every  now  and  then  the  soft,  melancholy  cooing 
of  the  mourning-dove,  whose  voice  always  seems 
far  away  and  expresses  more  than  any  other 
sound  in  nature  the  sadness  of  gentle,  hopeless, 
never-ending  grief.  The  other  birds  are  still  and 
very  few  animals  move  about.  Now  and  then 


150  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  black  shadow  of  a  wheeling  vulture  falls  on 
the  sun-scorched  ground.  The  cattle,  that  have 
strung  down  in  long  files  from  the  hills,  lie 
quietly  on  the  sand-bars,  except  that  some  of  the 
bulls  keep  traveling  up  and  down,  bellowing  and 
routing  and  giving  vent  to  long,  surly  grum 
blings  as  they  paw  the  sand  and  toss  it  up  with 
their  horns.  At  times  the  horses,  too,  will  come 
down  to  drink,  and  to  splash  and  roll  in  the 
water.  The  prairie-dogs  alone  are  not  daunted 
by  the  heat,  but  sit  at  the  mouths  of  their  bur 
rows  with  their  usual  pert  curiosity. " 

Mr.  Roosevelt  published  the  "  Naval  History 
of  1812 "  in  1882;  "  Hunting  Trips  of  a  Ranch 
man"  in  1885;  "Life  of  Thomas  Benton"  in 
1886;  "Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris"  in  1887, 
both  in  the  American  Statesmen  series ;  ' '  Essays 
on  Practical  Politics"  and  "Ranch  Life  and  the 
Hunting  Trail"  in  1888.  The  first  two  volumes 
of  his  important  work,  "The  Winning  of  the 
West, ' '  were  issued  in  1889.  In  1890  he  wrote  a 
"History  of  New  York  City"  for  the  Historic 
Town  series ;  in  1893  < '  The  Wilderness  Hunter, ' ' 
and  the  next  year  published  the  third  volume  of 
"The  Winning  of  the  West."  In  1897  he  col 
lected  a  volume  of  his  essays  entitled  "American 


AS    AN    AUTHOR.  151 

Ideals,"  which  he  followed  with  "The  Rough 
Eiders "  in  1899,  and  "Oliver  Cromwell"  and  a 
volume  of  addresses  entitled  "The  Strenuous 
Life ' '  in  1890.  He  is  also  the  author  with  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge  or  "Hero  Tales  from  American 
History,"  and  he  was  one  of  the  assistants  of 
William  Laird  Cowles  in  the  preparation  ofl 
" The  Eoyal  Navy." 

All  of  Mr.  Boosevelt's  writings  are  forceful 
and  to  the  purpose.  His  ideals  are  as  high  in  the 
jungle  as  in  the  halls  of  justice.  He  discovers 
the  virtues  even  of  the  beasts  he  hunts  and  the 
dogs  that  trail  them.  He  is  a  naturalist  that  will 
take  no  man's  word  for  truth  until  he  has  inves 
tigated  the  subject  for  himself.  He  is  a  histo 
rian  who  does  not  hesitate  to  contradict  the 
statement  of  the  best  established  authority  once 
he  has  convinced  himself  that  there  is  an  error 
in  the  premise.  He  is  an  essayist  who  voices  his 
own  convictions  irrespective  of  the  effect  the 
utterance  will  have  on  his  own  personal  ambi 
tions.  He  is  a  writer  who  would  be  dangerous 
were  he  less  honest,  and  offensive  were  he  not 
certain  of  his  facts  before  he  ventures  to  express 
an  opinion. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  has  never  neglected  to  chroni- 


152  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

cle  his  experiences  whenever  those  experiences 
have  been  of  sufficient  value  to  be  of  interest  or 
use  in  the  world.  He  has  lived  a  life  of  wonder 
ful  activity  and  the  world  has  the  benefit  of  all 
he  has  learned— all  he  has  enjoyed.  His  suffer 
ings  he  has  kept  to  himself. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOME  LIFE  AND  RELIGIOUS  TENDENCIES. 

ROMANCE  OF  HIS  BOYHOOD— IN  THE  HOME  AND  FAMILY— "  ALL 
CHILDREN  SHOULD  HAVE  JUST  AS  GOOD  A  TIME  AS  THEY 
POSSIBLY  CAN"— HOLDING  TO  THE  FAITH  OF  HIS  FATHERS  — 
AN  AMERICAN  CITIZEN  CAN  TAKE  HIS  BIBLE  AND  THE  CON 
STITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  INTO  THE  CAUCUS. 

In  a  famous  sermon  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
once  exclaimed :  ' i  Blessed  is  the  man  who  has  a 
grandfather!"  The  student  who  seeks  for  the 
underlying  principle  of  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
home  life  must  go  back  to  his  ancestry  to  secure 
it.  He  is  no  worshiper  of  name.  Neither  he  nor 
Mr.  Beecher  could  have  had  any  patience  with  the 
profligate  who  would  expect  an  honorable  lin 
eage  to  excuse  a  life  of  inaction  or  of  evil.  Yet 
both  realized  the  value  of  a  creditable  ancestry. 
As  a  boy  Theodore  Eoosevelt  was  the  heir  not 
only  of  wealth  and  social  position,  but  of  a  long- 
established  habit  of  good  sense  in  the  training  of 
children.  In  looking  at  his  home  life  it  is  well 
to  remember  that,  while  ever  since  the  beginning 

153 


154  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

of  the  seventeenth  century  to  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth,  the  name  has  been  honorably  asso 
ciated  with  history,  no  Roosevelt  has  in  all  that 
time  disgraced  the  family,  nor  defied  the  laws  of 
the  State.  There  is  something  of  value  in  such 
an  ancestry  as  that;  and  in  the  sense  that  it 
tended  to  develop  the  best  that  was  in  the  child 
one  might  well  say  it  was  fortunate  to  have  "had 
a  grandfather."  The  sons  of  this  family  had 
always  been  taught  the  value  of  personal  en 
deavor.  Idleness  had  not  been  permitted,  because 
to  permit  it  had  been  clearly  recognized  as  the 
greatest  unkindness  that  could  have  been 
inflicted.  But  it  was  a  reasonable  and  healthful 
industry  that  was  enforced,  for  the  effect  was  to 
cultivate  a  habit  of  and  a  love  for  diligence. 
The  children  did  not  need  to  be  driven.  Work 
was  never  made  drudgery  to  them.  And  play  was 
by  no  means  discouraged.  A  very  active  interest 
in  current  affairs  was  cultivated ;  and  the  result 
of  it  all  has  been  that  the  Roosevelts  were  healthy 
and  strong  men,  invariably  devoted  to  home 
life,  and  always  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
affairs  of  the  community. 

It  was   no   wonder   that   such  an  ancestry 
should  have  produced  an  ideal  home  for  this  lad. 


HOME    LIFE.  155 

It  has  been  said  that  he  was  far  from  being 
robust  in  physical  power,  but  that  he  gradually 
overcame  this  deficiency,  so  that  at  the  time  of 
entering  Harvard  College  he  gave  good  promise 
of  fully  equalling  his  classmates.  Much  of 
this  betterment  was  due  to  his  father's  sensible 
rule  of  providing  plenty  of  exercise.  There  was 
a  country  home  at  Oyster  Bay  (now  the  posses 
sion  of  President  Eoosevelt)  and  there  the  chil 
dren  played  through  their  vacations,  getting  the 
benefit  of  pure  air,  healthful  food  and  abundant 
exercise.  Elliott  Eoosevelt  was  the  elder  of  the 
two  brothers,  and  far  the  stronger  in  those  dis 
tant  days  of  childhood.  Both  boys  were  venture 
some,  and  found  many  an  opportunity  for  testing 
courage  and  resource.  The  bay  was  before  them, 
the  woods  behind.  There  were  boats  and  horses, 
the  pleasure  of  fishing  and  of  hunting,  and  the 
daily  opportunity  for  outdoor  exercise  which  is 
so  necessary  to  the  proper  development  of  a 
child. 

But  there  was  another  side  of  the  home  life 
that  should  not  be  overlooked.  There  was  a  per 
fect  understanding  between  the  father  and  his 
children.  The  mother  was  no  distant  and  unap 
proachable  being,  but  was  their  friend.  There 


156  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

was  no  place  in  the  world  where  they  could  have 
a  better  time  than  at  home.  The  most  perfect 
freedom  was  accorded  them,  and  the  hand  which 
held  them  in  check  was  so  skilfully  gloved  with 
persuasion  or  was  so  diverting  that  they  did  not 
feel  the  restraint.  The  one  thing  they  did  feel 
from  the  beginning  was  that  they  must  do  right; 
that  boys  must  be  brave,  and  that  all  must  be 
truthful.  They  were  no  more  models,  perhaps, 
than  other  children  trained  in  the  same  manner. 
But  it  is  doubtful  if  any  children  ever  grew  up 
more  thoroughly  grounded  in  truthfulness,  in 
fairness  and  honesty. 

There  were  books  in  plenty,  and  the  habit  of 
reading  was  cultivated.  Both  father  and  mother 
went  with  the  children  in  their  excursions  in  his 
tory;  joined  them  in  the  interesting  study  of 
birds  and  beasts ;  so  that  a  love  for  biography, 
and  for  the  study  of  other  nations  and  other 
times,  and  a  keen  appreciation  of  natural  history, 
all  became  elements  in  the  training  of  these  chil 
dren—in  the  home  life  of  young  Theodore 
Roosevelt. 

To  it  may  be  traced  in  large  measure  his  own 
views  on  the  proper  treatment  of  children.  In 
the  course  of  a  recent  paper  he  has  stated  the 


HOME    LIFE. 


157 


essence  of  those  views:  "All  children  should 
have  just  as  good  a  time  as  they  possibly  can." 
For  he  has  seen  the  truth— that  out  of  a  happy 
and  innocent  boyhood  a  happy  and  useful  man 
hood  is  most  likely  to  come. 

It  has  been  said  that  young  Theodore  and 
little  Edith  Carow  formed  a  childish  attachment 
even  in  the  days  when  they  played  about  the  trees 
and  fountains  of  Union  Square,  and  the  reader 
has  learned  that  Mr.  Koosevelt  later,  while  a  stu 
dent  at  Harvard,  met  Miss  Alice  Lee,  a  beautiful 
young  woman  of  Boston.     Their  marriage  fol 
lowed  closely  upon  his  graduation,   and  they 
enjoyed  a  year  of  travel  and  reading  in  Europe. 
A  daughter,  £lice,  was  born  to  them,  and  the 
home  life  of  this  young  man  promised  to  be 
as  happy  and  as  nearly  ideal  as  that  of  his 
fathers  before  him  had  been.    But  death  took  his 
wife  in  the  summer  of  1884;  and  shortly  after 
ward  he  suffered  the  loss  of  his  mother.     His 
father  had  died  some  years  before.    Thereafter 
for  three  years  his  home  life  was  that  of  a  man 
deprived  of  the  joys  to  which  husband  and  father 
is  entitled,  yet  in  all  ways  true  to  the  ideals  of 
manliness   and   integrity   which   had   been   set 
before  him  from  the  beginning.    Little  Alice  was 


158  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

cared  for  in  the  home  of  her  grandparents,  in 
Boston,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  turned  from  the  fire 
side  that  had  been  so  large  a  part  of  his  life, 
and  went  to  the  West.  He  hunted,  rode  horse 
back,  took  an  active  interest  in  the  moral  and 
material  building  up  of  the  new  regions  around 
the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  he 
engaged  in  such  reading  and  thought  as  were 
best  calculated  to  broaden  and  fit  him  for  greater 
duties  when  their  day  should  come. 

Meantime  Edith  Kermit  Carow  had  grown  to 
womanhood,  had  graduated  from  the  schools  that 
were  selected  for  her,  and  had  traveled  a  great 
deal  abroad.  She  was  heard  of  now  and  then  in 
Berlin,  in  Paris  and  in  London,  but  spent  the 
greater  portion  of  each  year  at  the  home  of  her 
parents  in  New  York.  The  childish  romance  in 
which  her  life  and  that  of  Theodore  Roosevelt 
were  formerly  united  had  been  laid  away  among 
those  tender,  clinging  memories  which  a  woman 
cherishes  but  does  not  discuss,  and  she  had 
become  a  favorite  in  the  very  exclusive  circles 
which  she  frequented.  When  the  news  of  Mrs. 
Roosevelt's  death  was  received  there  was  no  sin- 
cerer  mourner  than  she.  But  two  years  later  the 
old  association  was  renewed,  and  the  girl  who 


HOME    LIFE.  159 

had  played  with  Theodore  Roosevelt  in  the  shade 
of  Union  Square's  trees  became  his  second  wife. 

The  personality  of  a  wife  is  a  subject  that 
cannot  be  discussed  recklessly.  It  is  enough  to 
say  that  Mrs.  Theodore  Roosevelt  is  modest  and 
retiring,  devoted  to  her  husband,  and  almost 
wholly  engrossed  by  the  duties  of  her  home.  She 
who  reigned  as  a  belle  through  three  successive 
seasons  has  become  the  ideal  mother  of  five 
happy,  healthy  children,  and  is  now  a  most  gra 
cious  mistress  of  the  White  House— a  charming 
" first  lady  of  the  land."  She  is  accomplished, 
possessed  of  that  gentle  voice  which  is  "an 
excellent  thing  in  woman, "  and  far  removed 
from  the  arrogance  which  in  one  weaker  might  go 
with  so  high  a  station. 

Nothing  more  complimentary  can  be  said  of 
her  than  that  she  is  sensible ;  nothing  more  hon 
orable  than  that  she  is  an  ideal  American  mother, 
and  nothing  more  convincing  than  that  Alice 
Roosevelt,  child  of  that  first  marriage,  is  fully 
and  lovingly  established  as  a  daughter  of  this 
later  home. 

With  all  the  elements  that  go  to  make  up  the 
character  of  President  Roosevelt,  the  religious 
tendencies  should  by  no  means  be  overlooked. 


160  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church, 
and  has  attended  the  services  of  that  communion 
since  he  was  a  child.  His  parents  must  have 
accepted  a  broad  and  reasonable  rendering  of 
the  precept  which  directed  them  to  bring  up  their 
children  "in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,"  for  this  man  who  has  met  all  problems  of 
life  with  courage  and  decision,  has  measured 
his  deeds  by  the  standard  of  a  practical  and  per 
fect  faith.  The  great  tenets  of  the  Christian 
religion  are  the  tenets  of  his  creed.  He  does  no 
evil.  He  seeks  that  which  is  good.  He  renders 
unto  every  man  the  things  that  belong  to  that 
man— and  he  takes  his  own  with  an  honesty 
which  is  not  hypocritical  enough  to  permit  self- 
effacement. 

The  church  organization  to  which  Mr.  Roose 
velt  belongs  has  a  very  honorable  history.  Most 
of  the  people  of  Holland  still  adhere  to  it,  and  its 
devotees  are  found  all  over  the  world.  In  the 
United  States  they  have  establishments  in  every 
considerable  city.  The  form  of  government  is 
Presbyterian.  Four  hundred  years  ago  the  peo 
ple  of  Holland  wavered  between  the  Lutheran 
and  the  Reformed  churches.  In  1571  they  pub 
licly  professed  their  allegiance  to  the  latter.  As 


HOME    LIFE.  161 

long  as  they  were  under  the  sway  of  Spain  they 
abstained  from  the  use  of  the  word  "  reformed, " 
but  when  freedom  had  been  achieved  they  made 
their  choice,  and  set  an  example  which  was  later 
expressed  in  America— the  right  to  "worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  con 
sciences.  * ' 

The  life  of  Theodore  Eoosevelt  brings  much 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  practical  Christian. 
There  is  no  cant  in  his  composition.  He  belongs 
to  the  Church,  and  attends  in  observance  upon 
its  ordinances.  He  contributes  to  the  support  of 
that  gospel  which  was  the  consolation  of  his 
ancestors,  both  in  the  fatherland  and  in  this 
newer  country  which  began  almost  with  the 
establishment  of  the  Roosevelt  family.  But, 
aside  from  this,  the  man's  life  has  been  an 
example  of  the  living  which  those  precepts  en 
join.  Above  all  things,  he  is  genuine  and  honest. 
He  is  as  fearless  as  were  the  prophets  of  old,  and 
as  insistent  on  absolute  justice  between  man  and 
man  as  even  the  first  of  the  Judges  could  have 
been.  Being  intensely  practical,  he  holds  that 
religion  of  little  value  which  does  not  make  men 
and  women  better ;  which  does  not  lead  them  into 
right  lives,  and  keep  them  in  happiness. 


162  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

In  September,  1901,  less  than  a  week  before 
that  assassination  of  President  McKinley  which 
for  the  third  time  in  American  history  placed  a 
Vice-President  in  the  chief  executive's  chair,  Mr. 
Eoosevelt  was  in  Chicago  and  remained  there 
over  Sunday.  Many  demands  were  made  upon 
his  time.  He  was  then  Vice-President,  and  a  fig 
ure  so  commanding  that  influential  men  sought 
him  continually.  But  in  the  early  hours  of  that 
Sabbath  day  he  disregarded  social  and  political 
obligations,  went  to  Trinity  Eeformed  Church, 
on  Marshfield  avenue,  and  joined  in  the  worship 
according  to  the  familiar  forms  that  had  been  a 
part  of  his  life  from  the  beginning.  At  the  con 
clusion  of  a  short  sermon  the  pastor  invited  him 
into  the  pulpit,  and  there  he  addressed  the  con 
gregation.  His  militant  Christianity  was  evi 
denced  in  the  very  first  words  he  uttered :  * '  Be  ye 
doers  of  the  Word,  and  not  hearers  only."  It 
was  the  message  of  a  man  who  cares  little  for 
profession,  but  much  for  performance.  It  was 
the  command  uttered  nineteen  hundred  years  ago 
by  One  who  condemned  the  boastful  Pharisee, 
yet  recognized  the  honest  effort  to  do  right  when 
he  uttered  the  exclamation:  "Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant." 


HOME    LIFE.  163 

In  that  modest  address,  which  has  been  styled 
a  sermon,  Mr.  Roosevelt  said:  "We  must  be 
doers— not  hearers  only.  I  am  sure  every  one 
who  tries  to  be  a  good  Christian  must  feel  a  pecul 
iar  shame  when  he  sees  a  hypocrite,  or  one  who 
so  conducts  himself  as  to  bring  reproach  upon 
Christianity.  The  man  who  observes  all  the 
ceremonials  of  the  laws  of  the  church  but  who 
does  not  carry  them  out  in  his  daily  life,  is  not 
a  true  Christian.  To  be  doers  of  the  Word  it  is 
necessary  that  we  must  be  first  hearers  of  the 
Word.  Yet  attendance  at  church  is  not  enough. 
We  must  learn  the  lessons.  We  must  study  the 
Bible,  but  we  must  not  let  it  end  there.  We  must 
apply  it  in  active  life.  The  first  duty  of  a  man  is 
to  his  own  house.  The  necessity  of  heroic  action 
on  a  great  scale  arises  but  seldom,  but  the  hum 
drum  of  life  is  with  us  every  day. 

"In  business  and  in  work,  if  you  let  Chris 
tianity  stop  as  you  go  out  of  the  church  door, 
there  is  little  righteousness  in  you.  You  must 
behave  to  your  fellowmen  as  you  would  have 
them  behave  to  you.  You  must  have  pride  in 
your  work  if  you  would  succeed.  A  man  should 
get  justice  for  himself,  but  he  should  also  do 
justice  to  others.  Help  a  man  to  help  himself, 


164  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

but  do  not  expend  all  your  efforts  in  helping  a 
man  who  will  not  help  himself. ' ' 

Later  in  the  day  he  spoke  to  the  Gideon  Band 
as  follows :  ' t  The  Christianity  that  counts  is  the 
kind  that  is  carried  into  a  man's  life.  The  man 
who  does  ordinary  work  well  is  working  for  the 
Lord.  I  do  not  like  to  see  a  slack  man.  If  a  man 
is  slack  in  his  business  relations,  you  cannot 
draw  upon  him  heavily  in  spiritual  matters. 
Doubtless  you  remember  the  line  in  Milton  where 
he  speaks  of  the  'cloister  virtue/  and  later  com 
pares  it  with  ' robust  virtue.'  That  is  what  you 
men  are  teaching  by  precept  and  example.  You 
are  showing  how  a  Christian  life  can  be  led  in  an 
active  life.  If  you  do  not  find  in  a  man  any 
outward  manifestations  of  the  Spirit,  I  am  in 
clined  to  doubt  if  it  ever  has  been  in  him.  I  like 
to  see  fruits ;  and  I  am  glad  that  you  are  pro 
ducing  them." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  accurate 
index  of  the  man's  character.  Throughout  his 
life  he  has  been  exemplifying  the  very  principles 
which  he  presented  to  his  hearers  from  the  pulpit 
on  those  two  occasions.  When  he  took  part  in 
the  preliminary  political  meetings  in  the  Murray 
Hill  district,  before  his  first  election  to  the  legis- 


HOME    LIFE.  165 

lature,  lie  simply  put  into  actual  practice  what 
all  the  others  would  have  cheerfully  conceded  as 
a  theory.  They  understood  that  the  government 
under  which  they  lived  was  a  republic,  and  that 
every  citizen  had  a  right  to  an  equal  share  in 
its  control.  They  would  have  admitted  that  they 
had  no  right  to  deny  the  franchise  to  any  Amer 
ican  ;  yet  they  had  been  denying  an  equal  share 
to  some  fellow-citizens,  and  had  no  thought  of 
discontinuing  the  practice.  They  had  been  deny 
ing  the  franchise  to  Americans  wherever  they 
dared  and  whenever  the  exigencies  of  their  party 
made  it  desirable.  And  they  had  been  extending 
to  other  Americans  who  were  of  their  own  way 
of  thinking  vastly  more  than  the  power  of  a  sin 
gle  freeman.  Furthermore,  if  any  one  had  asked 
them  to  subscribe  to  the  Golden  Eule  just  before 
their  entrance  to  the  caucus,  they  would  cheer 
fully  have  done  so,  and  dismissed  the  matter  as 
conceded,  but  of  moment  too  small  for  considera 
tion. 

Yet  this  man,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  came  to  his 
political  life  with  all  the  ingenuousness  of  a  relig 
ious  neophyte,  and  all  the  enthusiasm  of  a 
patriot.  His  religion  was  of  very  little  use  to 
him  if  it  could  not  be  taken  into  his  politics.  His 


166  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

political  creed  was  a  mockery  if  it  did  not  square 
itself  by  his  religion.  Fortunately  he  convinced 
all  those  who  cared  to  be  convinced  that  the  Ser 
mon  on  the  Mount,  the  Golden  Rule  and  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  were  all  legitimate 
guides  for  the  politician.  He  overthrew  the 
machine,  but  he  took  no  more  than  was  his  right 
as  a  citizen,  no  more  than,  as  a  Christian,  it  was 
his  duty  to  take. 

When  he  reached  the  halls  of  legislation  at 
Albany  he  found  a  thoroughly  established  doc 
trine  that  the  Bible  and  the  Bill  of  Rights  were 
to  be  left  in  the  anteroom.  He  found  that  cor 
ruption  had  come  to  be  recognized  as  a  necessary 
factor  in  the  securing  of  even  wise  and  needed 
legislation.  Before  he  left  the  State  capital  he 
had  established  the  principle  that  an  honest  man 
who  has  the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  the 
strength  that  should  crown  an  American  legisla 
tor  can  secure  the  passage  of  laws  without  the 
use  of  bribery,  and  defeat  bad  measures  without 
employing  violence. 

When  he  assailed  the  spoils  system  he  needed 
but  the  simple  doctrines  that  he  had  learned  from 
the  New  Testament  and  the  catechism.  Those  to 
whom  he  talked  confessed  without  reserve  that 


HOME    LIFE.  167 

their  policy  and  their  practice  were  not  in  con 
formity  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  relig 
ion;  and  that,  reduced  to  the  last  analysis,  they 
were  politically  as  well  as  religiously  wrong.  In 
their  defense  they  may  have  insisted  that  practi 
cal  government  made  it  necessary  to  do  some 
things  which  an  exact  construction  of  law  and 
gospel  would  forbid;  but  he  taught  them  that 
better  government  could  be  secured  without 
wrong-doing;  that  every  end  toward  which 
statesmen  might  justly  strive  was  attainable 
along  the  paths  of  honesty,  fidelity  and  truth.  He 
had  no  use  for  principles  which  would  not  admit 
of  realization  in  practice,  and  no  faith  in  a  prac 
tice  which  was  not  supported  by  manly  and 
Christian  principles. 

In  one  of  his  essays  he  has  declared  that  the 
two  commandments  that  were  particularly  appli 
cable  in  American  public  life  were  the  eighth 
and  the  ninth:  "Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  and 
"Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness. "  To  take  a 
thing  which  did  not  belong  to  him  he  regarded 
as  stealing ;  and  the  fact  that  he  was  an  elected 
official  did  not  absolve  him.  The  doctrine  was  a 
new  one  to  the  men  whom  he  encountered  in  his 
earlier  activity  in  public  affairs.  When  he  had 


168  THEODOBE    ROOSEVELT. 

taught  his  associates  a  more  stern  and  righteous 
code  of  morals,  he  had  occasion  to  repel  their 
charges  of  insincerity  by  telling  them  they  should 
not  violate  the  ninth  commandment. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  Mr.  Eoosevelt 
was  so  strict  a  constructionist  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  his  securing  practical  results. 
Sometimes  he  found  the  best— the  absolute  right 
—not  at  the  hour  attainable ;  and  he  had  as  little 
patience  with  that  band  of  irreconcilables  who 
would  have  nothing  unless  they  could  have  all, 
as  he  had  for  the  graceless  scamp  who  took  with 
out  regard  to  title.  "The  weakling  and  the 
coward  cannot  be  saved  by  honesty  alone;  but 
without  honesty  the  brave  and  able  man  is  simply 
a  civic  wild  beast  who  should  be  hunted  down  by 
every  lover  of  righteousness. ' '  He  says  in 
another  place:  "We  need  absolute  honesty  in 
public  life;  and  we  shall  not  get  it  until  we 
remember  that  truth-telling  must  go  hand  in  hand 
with  it,  and  that  it  is  quite  as  important  not  to 
tell  an  untruth  about  a  decent  man  as  it  is  to  tell 
the  truth  about  one  who  is  not  decent. ' ' 

Yet,  speaking  of  the  extremists  who  would 
reject  every  tender  of  partial  betterment  as  "a 
compromise  with  the  Devil,  a  covenant  with 


MR.    ROOSEVELT   AT    HOME 


HOME    LIFE.  169 

Hell/'  he  has  said:  "They  are  morally  worse 
instead  of  better  than  the  moderates.  Under  very 
rare  conditions  their  attitude  may  be  right ;  and 
because  it  is  thus  right  once  in  a  hundred  times 
they  are  apt  to  be  blind  to  the  harm  they  do  in 
the  other  ninety-nine  cases.  These  men  need  to 
realize  above  all  things  that  healthy  growth  can 
not  come  through  revolution.  Hysteria  in  any 
form  is  incompatible  with  sane  and  healthy 
endeavor. ' ' 

There  is  no  concession  to  wrong  in  this.  It  is 
simply  the  wisdom  of  a  man  who  understands 
the  world,  and  who  knows  that  miracles  have 
ceased.  As  even  the  Creator  allots  a  hundred 
years  to  the  maturity  of  an  oak,  so  that  man  who 
would  build  higher  the  temple  of  his  country's 
liberties  must  move  by  degrees;  he  must  take 
advantage  of  available  blessings,  and  gather  the 
strength  to  be  obtained  from  combat  with  foes. 

The  religious  life  and  example  of  Mr.  Roose 
velt  seem  above  all  things  to  be  of  that  reason 
able  sort  which  makes  men  better ;  which  tends 
to  a  higher  type  of  statesmanship ;  which  encour 
ages  a  better  officialdom ;  which  makes  American 
citizenship  and  Christian  citizenship  more  nearly 
convertible  terms. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CKUSADE    FOK    THE    MEKIT    SYSTEM. 

ROOSEVELT'S  WORK  IN  THE  NEW  YORK  LEGISLATURE  BEARS 
FRUIT  — APPOINTED  CIVIL  SERVICE  COMMISSIONER  BY  PRESI 
DENT  HARRISON  —  SHOWS  GREAT  PREPARATION  FOR  THE 
WORK— OFFENDS  SPOILSMEN  OF  BOTH  PARTIES— ABLY  SUP 
PORTED  IN  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE. 

For  several  years  after  his  defeat  for  the 
office  of  mayor  of  New  York  Mr.  Roosevelt  took 
no  prominent  part  in  politics.  Not  that  he  ever 
lost  interest  in  the  legislation  of  his  city,  State  or 
country.  His  nature  and  education  prohibited 
such  a  course.  A  man  who  should  neglect  to 
perform  the  duties  of  citizenship  from  any  cause 
he  held  in  less  esteem  even  than  the  man  who 
made  a  business  of  politics  for  the  advancement 
of  his  own  personal  ends.  There  is  no  mistaking 
his  utterances  on  this  point.  ' '  It  is  unfortunately 
true,"  he  declares,  "especially  throughout  New 
England  and  the  Middle  States,  that  the  general 
tendency  among  people  of  culture  and  high  edu 
cation  has  been  to  neglect  and  even  to  look  down 


THE    MERIT    SYSTEM.  171 

upon  the  rougher  and  manlier  virtues,  so  that  an 
advanced  state  of  intellectual  development  is  too 
often  associated  with  a  certain  effeminacy  of 
character.  Our  more  intellectual  men  often 
shrink  from  the  raw  coarseness  and  the  eager 
struggle  of  political  life  as  if  they  were  women. 
Now,  however  refined  and  virtuous  a  man  may 
be,  he  is  yet  entirely  out  of  place  in  the  Ameri 
can  body  politic  unless  he  is  himself  of  suffi 
ciently  coarse  fiber  and  virile  character  to  be 
more  angered  than  hurt  by  an  insult  or  injury ; 
the  timid  good  form  a  most  useless  as  well  as  a 
most  despicable  portion  of  the  community." 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  a  man  hold 
ing  such  sentiments  would  retire  without  good 
reason,  even  for  a  brief  time,  from  the  field  in  a 
war  he  had  himself  been  largely  instrumental  in 
bringing  about.  And  so  we  may  well  conclude 
that  the  period  between  1886,  when  he  made  the 
mayoralty  race,  and  1889,  when  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Harrison  a  member  of  the  Civil 
Service  Commission,  was  employed  by  Mr. 
Roosevelt  in  the  preparation  of  a  plan  that  should 
put  him  on  a  fighting  basis  with  those  to  whose 
methods  he  was  unalterably  opposed. 

The  physical  life  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  during 


172  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

those  three  years  is  a  familiar  story.  Much  of 
the  time  was  spent  on  his  ranch  in  the  Bad  Lands, 
where  he  rode,  and  hunted,  and  wrote  graphic 
tales  of  his  adventures— books  on  hunting,  books 
on  Western  life,  and  books  on  Eastern  cities. 
His  literary  style  was  both  vigorous  and  pleas 
ing.  His  books  sold  well  and  the  magazines  made 
great  demand  for  his  writings.  The  public  liked 
his  breeziness,  his  evident  sincerity,  his  courage, 
and  began  to  get  an  understanding  of  the  man. 
But  Mr.  Eoosevelt  had  other  things  in  mind 
than  any  of  these  with  which  the  country  is 
familiar.  His  service  in  the  assembly  had  shown 
him  the  seamy  side  of  politics.  He  had  discov 
ered  that  the  people,  careless  on  the  one  hand  of 
their  duties,  and,  on  the  other,  too  deeply 
immersed  in  trade,  or  too  busy  in  a  struggle  for 
existence  to  guard  their  rights,  were  being  swin 
dled  and  robbed  by  the  very  men  they  had  chosen 
to  protect  them.  He  saw  their  need  of  a  cham 
pion  who  was  not  only  strong,  resolute  and  brave, 
but  who  was  also  honest,  able  and  a  patriot. 
Such  a  champion  he  determined  to  be,  but  the 
high  purpose  of  his  soul  he  concealed  from  every 
one.  In  solitude  and  alone  the  prophets  of  old 
had  found  wisdom.  What  three  years  in  the 


THE    MERIT    SYSTEM.  173 

wilderness  did  for  Mr.  Eoosevelt  is  shown  in  his 
acts  immediately  following  his  return.    He  had 
gone  away  a  young  man  full  of  enthusiasm  for 
good  government,  strong  in  his  convictions  for 
right  and  justice,  fearless  and  ready  in  combat, 
but  with  few  weapons  and  no  armor ;   a  chival 
rous  knight,  it  is  true,  but  a  knight  with  bare 
hands  and  uncovered  head,  who  was  forced  to 
storm  a  castle  skilfully  built  for  defence  and 
occupied  by  a  host  of  trained  and  cunning  sol 
diers,  serving  under  able,  if  unscrupulous  gen 
erals.    He  came  back  with  no  lower  ideals,  with 
enthusiasm  unabated,  with  the  same  deep-seated 
hatred  of  sham  and  hypocrisy,  the  same  contempt 
for  weakness  and  cowardice,  but  with  a  greatly 
broadened  mind,  extended  wisdom,  and  with  a 
knowledge  of  men  that  was  at  once  sword,  shield 
and  castle.    Hard  study  had  fortified  him  with 
the  fundamental  facts  of  all  government,  and 
days  and  nights  of  contemplation  in  the  deep 
forest  and  on  the  broad  prairies  had  given  him  a 
vision  as  clear  and  rare  as  the  air  of  the  moun 
tain  peaks.    He  went  away  the  colonel  of  a  regi 
ment  of  patriotic  recruits;    he  came  back  the 
general  of  a  trained  army.     Impetuosity  had 
given  place  to  strenuous  purpose,  and  his  adver- 


174  THEODOBE    KOOSEVELT. 

saries  soon  learned  that  they  were  now  forced  to 
fight  a  man  as  skilful  as  themselves  in  all  the  arts 
of  war  or  diplomacy,  who  lacked  neither  mental 
nor  physical  courage,  and  who,  moreover,  had 
truth  on  his  side. 

How  fierce  and  constant  that  battle  was  can 
best  be  judged  by  Mr.  Roosevelt's  three  capital 
essays,  " Machine  Politics  in  New  York  City," 
"Six  Years  of  Civil  Service  Reform,"  and 
"Administering  the  New  York  Police  Force." 
Even  these  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  work  done 
by  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  his  colleagues  in  their 
efforts  to  make  effective  the  laws  looking  toward 
purity  in  politics  and  in  getting  new  legislation 
to  assist  in  extending  and  completing  the  work. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt 's  attitude  toward  civil  service 
and  the  urgent  need  of  it  is  succinctly  set  forth  in 
the  opening  of  his  essay  on  that  subject.  "No 
question  of  internal  administration7'  he  declares, 
"is  so  important  to  the  United  States  as  the 
question  of  Civil  Service  reform,  because  the 
spoils  system,  which  can  be  supplanted  only 
through  the  agencies  which  have  found  expres 
sion  in  the  act  creating  the  Civil  Service  Com 
mission,  has  been  for  seventy  years  the  most 
potent  of  all  the  forces  tending  to  bring  about  the 


THE  MERIT  SYSTEM.  175 

degradation  of  our  politics.  No  republic  can 
permanently  endure  when  its  politics  are  corrupt 
and  base ;  and  the  spoils  system,  the  application 
in  political  life  of  the  degrading  doctrine  that  to 
the  victor  belong  the  spoils,  produces  corruption 
and  degradation.  The  man  who  is  in  politics  for 
the  offices  might  just  as  well  be  in  politics  for 
the  money  he  can  get  for  his  vote,  so  far  as  the 
general  good  is  concerned.  .  .  .  The  worst 
enemies  of  the  republic  are  the  demagogue  and 
the  corruptionist.  The  spoils-monger  and  the 
spoils-seeker  invariably  breed  the  bribe-taker 
and  the  bribe-giver,  the  embezzler  of  public 
funds  and  the  corrupter  of  voters.  Civil  Service 
reform  is  not  merely  a  movement  to  better  the 
public  service.  It  achieves  this  end  too;  but 
its  main  purpose  is  to  raise  the  tone  of  public 
life,  and  it  is  in  this  direction  that  its  effects  have 
been  of  incalculable  good  to  the  whole  commu 
nity." 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  in  this  essay  goes  on  to  show 
exactly  what  was  done  during  the  six  years  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board,  both  to  ad 
vance  the  law  and  to  hinder  its  advancement, 
and  who  were  the  more  prominent  among  its 
friends  and  foes.  It  is  a  paper  well  worth  the 


176  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

study  of  any  one  desirous  of  knowing  how  the 
few  really  honest  and  capable  men  in  the  public 
service  must  fight  to  keep  the  spoilsmen  from 
overrunning  the  rightful  possessions  of  the  gen 
eral  public,  and  carrying  off  its  substance  to  be 
divided  among  the  successful  marauders.  Here, 
as  in  all  his  chronicles  of  events  in  which  he  has 
taken  active  part,  Mr.  Eoosevelt  is  quick  to  bring 
forward  those  who  have  been  active  and  resolute 
in  the  cause. 

When  Mr.  Eoosevelt  took  office  on  the  Com 
mission  the  only  commissioner  was  Charles 
Lyman,  of  Connecticut,  with  whom  he  served 
until  he  resigned  in  May,  1895,  to  accept  the 
position  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Hugh  S.  Thompson,  ex-governor  of  South  Caro 
lina,  was  made  commissioner  at  the  same  time 
with  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  served  three  years,  when 
he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  George  D. 
Johnson,  of  Louisiana,  who  was  removed  by  the 
President  in  November,  1893,  being  replaced  by 
John  E.  Proctor,  the  former  State  geologist  of 
Kentucky.  Mr.  Eoosevelt  declares  that  the 
Commission  never  varied  a  hand 's  breadth  from 
its  course  throughout  the  six  years  of  his  service, 
and  that  Messrs.  Thompson,  Proctor,  Lyman 


THE    MERIT    SYSTEM.  177 

and  himself  were  always  a  unit  on  all  important 
questions  of  policy  and  principle.  "Our  aim," 
he  says,  "was  always  to  procure  the  extension  of 
the  classified  service  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and 
to  see  that  the  law  was  administered  thoroughly 
and  fairly. ' ' 

It  was  this  harmony  of  purpose  in  the  Com 
mission  that  made  it  possible  for  it  to  accomplish 
such  a  vast  amount  of  work  and  place  the  Civil 
Service  on  such  a  firm  basis  that  it  can  hardly 
be  dislodged  without  an  upheaval  in  the  Govern 
ment  itself. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  was  one  of  the  most  noted 
advocates  of  the  merit  system,  and  his  enmity  to 
the  spoilsmen  had  won  him  the  objurgations  of 
press  and  party  on  numberless  occasions.  He 
brought  to  the  discharge  of  his  new  duties  all 
the  energy  exhibited  in  his  legislative  career, 
coupled  with  the  wiser  understanding  gained  by 
three  years  of  close  application  to  the  study  of 
the  subject.  His  experience  as  an  assemblyman 
had  taught  him  that  he  would  find  sturdy  oppo 
sition  to  his  plans  for  reform  as  much  within 
his  party  as  out  of  it.  But  he  had  an  enthusiastic 
faith  in  the  righteousness  and  the  expediency  of 
the  Civil  Service  system. 


178  THEODORE    KOOSEVELT. 

His  first  entrance  into  politics  was  marked  by 
fearless  independence.  He  refused  to  affiliate 
with  rings  or  cliques.  As  he  had  begun  so  he 
continued,  and  for  the  first  time  since  it  had 
become  a  law  Civil  Service  became  a  fact. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  not  only  believed  in  Civil  Ser 
vice  as  a  theory  but  was  determined  that  it  should 
become  a  part  of  the  very  fiber  of  the  Govern 
ment.  He  had  introduced  the  first  intelligently 
drawn  Civil  Service  bill  ever  presented  in  the 
New  York  legislature.  By  an  odd  coincidence 
this  was  signed  by  Grover  Cleveland  at  nearly 
the  same  time  in  1883  that  the  Civil  Service 
reform  measure  drafted  by  Dorman  B.  Eaton, 
and  championed  by  Senator  George  H.  Pendle- 
ton,  passed  the  Republican  Congress  at  Wash 
ington,  and  received  the  signature  of  President 
Arthur.  Now  by  another  strange  conjunction  of 
circumstances  the  author  of  the  New  York  law 
was  put  in  a  position  where  the  power  to  enforce 
the  national  measure  was  largely  in  his  hands. 

To  any  one  less  sturdy  and  persistent  than 
Mr.  Eoosevelt  the  task  would  have  been  appall 
ing.  Many  of  the  Eepublican  and  Democratic 
politicians  were  opposed  to  the  Civil  Service  act. 
Many  members  of  Congress  of  both  parties  who 


THE    MERIT    SYSTEM.  179 

voted  for  it  did  so  on  account  of  the  tremendous 
popular  pressure  for  its  enactment  which  the 
assassination  of  President  Garfield  by  a  de 
mented  office-seeker  two  years  earlier  excited. 
These  Congressmen  would  have  been  glad  to  see 
the  act  die  of  inanition,  as  the  one  signed  by 
Grant  in  1873  had  died,  through  the  refusal  of 
Congress  to  make  an  appropriation  in  1874  for 
its  continuance.  Few  men  in  either  party  would 
have  gone  out  of  their  way  to  advocate  a  contin 
uance  of  the  measure,  much  less  to  demand  a 
rigid  enforcement  of  its  enactments ;  numbers  of 
them  were  ready  to  fight  it  on  every  possible 
occasion  and  with  all  the  weapons  in  the  hands  of 
party  organization. 

But  these  difficulties  that  would  have  over 
whelmed  a  less  aggressive  man  only  stimulated 
the  zest  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  and  he  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  with  an  energy  that 
startled  both  houses  of  Congress  and  made  Civil 
Service  reform  the  topic  of  fierce  discussion  all 
over  the  land.  Every  evasion  of  the  law  that 
came  to  the  notice  of  the  Commission  was  prose 
cuted  with  a  vigor  that  had  a  wholesome  effect  on 
the  heads  of  bureaus  and  departments,  and  gave 
a  security  to  Government  employes  they  had 


180  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

never  before  known.  '  *  The  widest  publicity  was 
given  to  wrong-doing,"  says  Mr.  Eoosevelt. 
"  Of  ten,  even  where  we  were  unable  to  win  the 
actual  fight  in  which  we  were  engaged,  the  fact 
of  our  having  made  it,  and  the  further  fact  that 
we  were  ready  to  repeat  it  on  provocation,  has 
put  a  complete  stop  to  the  repetition  of  the 
offense.  As  a  consequence,  while  there  have  been 
plenty  of  violations  and  evasions  of  the  law,  yet 
their  proportion  was  really  very  small,  taking 
into  account  the  extent  of  the  service.  In  the 
aggregate  it  is  doubtful  if  one  per  cent,  of  all 
the  employes  have  been  dismissed  for  political 
reasons.  In  other  words,  where,  under  the  spoils 
system,  a  hundred  men  would  have  been  turned 
out,  under  the  Civil  Service  law,  as  administered 
under  our  supervision,  ninety-nine  men  were 
kept  in. ' ' 

In  his  fight  for  the  extension  of  the  merit 
system  Mr.  Roosevelt  displayed  a  generalship 
that  demonstrated  his  ability  to  lead  among  the 
very  best  men  of  the  country.  He  was  no  sooner 
installed  in  Washington  than  he  sought  the  sup 
port  of  such  men  as  Congressman  (afterward 
Senator)  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  Messrs.  Eeed, 
of  Maine,  and  McKinley  (afterward  President) 


THE  MERIT  SYSTEM.  181 

of  Ohio,  among  the  Republicans,  and  Messrs. 
Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  and  Sayers,  of  Texas, 
among  the  Democrats.  Among  others  whom  Mr. 
Roosevelt  mentions  as  having  been  active  cham 
pions  of  the  law  in  the  lower  house  were  Messrs. 
Hopkins  and  Butterworth  of  Illinois,  Mr.  Green- 
halge  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Henderson  of  Iowa, 
Messrs.  Payne,  Tracy  and  Coombs  of  New  York. 
Among  its  chief  opponents  were  Messrs.  Spinola 
of  New  York,  Enloe  of  Tennessee,  Stockdale  of 
Mississippi,  Grosvenor  of  Ohio,  and  Bowers  of 
California.  In  the  Senate  Hoar  of  Massachu 
setts,  Allison  of  Iowa,  Hawley  of  Connecticut, 
Wolcott  of  Colorado,  Perkins  of  California, 
Cockrell  of  Missouri,  and  Butler  of  South  Caro 
lina  always  supported  the  Commission  against 
unjust  attack.  Senator  Gorman  was  the  chief 
leader  of  the  assaults  upon  the  Commission, 
Senators  Harris,  Plumb,  Stewart  and  Ingalls  be 
ing  his  allies. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  so  active  and  impartial  in 
his  enforcement  of  the  law  that  when  President 
Cleveland,  in  1893,  succeeded  President  Harri 
son,  he  asked  Mr.  Roosevelt  to  remain  in  office, 
and  so  for  two  years  more,  under  a  Democratic 
President,  he  carried  on  the  work  of  prosecuting 


182  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

offenders  against  the  Civil  Service  law.  In  his 
six  years'  service  he  added  twenty  thousand 
posts  to  the  lists  under  the  scope  of  the  merit 
system,  or  more  than  were  placed  on  that  roll  in 
an  equal  length  of  time  before  or  since. 

Mr.  Koosevelt  had  thus  proved  that  Civil 
Service,  honestly  administered,  was  of  practical 
value.  Indeed,  he  goes  so  far  as  to  say  there  is  in 
American  life  no  other  cause  so  fruitful  of  harm 
to  the  body  politic  as  the  spoils  system.  He  does 
not  believe  that  competitive  examinations  in  all 
cases  result  in  securing  the  best  men.  Indeed, 
such  examinations,  shrewdly  manipulated,  may 
easily  defeat  the  end  aimed  at.  But  if  there  is 
an  honest  desire  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  to 
secure  good  results  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
public  service  may  be  steadily  raised  to  a  higher 
state  of  efficiency. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  resigned  as  Civil  Service  Com 
missioner  May  5, 1895,  and  was  appointed  Police 
Commissioner  of  New  York  city  May  24  follow 
ing. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PURIFYING  CITY  POLITICS. 

ROOSEVELT  APPOINTED  PRESIDENT  OF  POLICE  BOARD  OF  THE  CITY 
OF  NEW  YORK— "l  WILL  ENFORCE  THE  LAW"— MERIT  SYSTEM 
GOVERNS  IN  POLICE  FORCE  —  SUNDAY  CLOSING  LAW  MADE 
OPERATIVE— ATTEMPTED  ASSASSINATION  BY  DYNAMITE. 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  by  Mayor 
Strong  to  the  presidency  of  the  Police  Commis 
sion  aroused  a  storm  of  protests  from  the  corrupt 
politicians  who  had  now  come  to  fear  and  hate 
him  with  a  bitterness  born  of  repeated  exposures 
and  defeats  at  his  hands.  He  had  introduced 
into  politics  a  new  element,  with  which  the  men 
who  controlled  the  machines  were  not  at  all 
familiar,  and  they  resented  it  as  a  tiger  resents 
the  appearance  of  a  higher  vertebrate  animal  in 
the  jungle  where  heretofore  he  has  held  undis 
puted  sway.  That  a  man  might  be  honest  in 
office,  so  far  as  his  personal  affairs  were  con 
cerned,  they  could  well  believe.  Indeed,  it  was 
necessary  for  the  success  of  the  machine  that 
there  should  be  such  men  in  office.  They  were 

183 


184  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  leaven  for  the  loaf  of  elections ;  the  "honor 
able  men' '  with  which  to  fill  the  platforms  at  pub 
lic  meetings,  whose  names  might  head  the  lists 
of  representatives  of  the  party  in  the  public 
prints.  Good  men  were  as  necessary  to  the 
machine  as  bad  men.  But  their  goodness  must 
be  negative ;  a  goodness  that  did  not  extend  far 
beyond  itself  and  was  satisfied  and  complacent 
in  the  contemplation  of  its  own  virtues.  But 
positive  goodness  was  another  matter,  dangerous, 
destructive  and  not  to  be  entertained. 

Mr.  Boose velt,  not  being  a  negative,  but  a 
radically  positive  character,  they  found  no  place 
for  him  in  their  combinations.  He  would  not 
have  peace  on  any  terms  short  of  absolute  hon 
esty  and  efficiency.  He  had  been  offensive 
enough  to  the  spoilsmen  while  he  was  in  Wash 
ington,  fighting  day  and  night  for  the  enforce 
ment  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Law.  To 
have  him  at  the  head  of  the  Police  Board  of  the 
city  of  New  York  meant  war  on  corruption  and 
no  quarter.  It  was  not  to  be  borne.  He  must 
be  crushed  at  the  outset.  After  all,  it  was  only 
one  man  against  ten  thousand,  and  the  thousands 
had  this  one  in  their  territory. 

This  was  the  feeling  of  the  machine  politi- 


CITY    POLITICS.  185 

cians  in  New  York  when,  on  May  5,  1895,  Theo 
dore  Roosevelt  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
newly  appointed  Police  Board,  with  the  under 
standing  that  the  duty  of  that  board  was  to  cut 
out  the  chief  source  of  civic  corruption  in  the  city 
by  cleansing  the  police  department.  At  the  city 
election  the  previous  fall  William  S.  Strong  had 
been  elected  Mayor  on  an  anti-Tammany  plat 
form,  by  a  coalition  composed  partly  of  the 
regular  Republicans,  partly  of  anti-Tammany 
Democrats,  and  partly  of  independents.  The 
business  depression  throughout  the  country  in 
1893,  which  resulted  in  a  general  suspension  of 
industries,  followed  by  idleness  and  vagrancy, 
had  caused  a  political  reaction  against  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  which  was  then  in  power,  and  this 
feeling  no  doubt  contributed  more  or  less  to  the 
success  of  the  reform  ticket;  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
the  result  would  have  been  materially  changed 
had  the  National  Democratic  party  still  held 
favor  with  the  people.  Crime  and  lawlessness 
had  grown  to  such  enormous  proportions  under 
the  protection  of  the  dominant  party  in  New 
York  that  even  the  dullest  and  most  careless 
citizen  felt  the  gravity  of  the  situation.  Corrup 
tion  had  honeycombed  every  department  of  the 


186  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

city  government,  and  inefficiency,  dishonesty  and 
rottenness  were  everywhere  in  evidence.  Espe 
cially  was  this  true  of  the  police  force.  This 
department  had  been  so  long  under  the  absolute 
direction  of  the  Tammany  leaders,  and  stood  in 
such  close  connection  both  with  that  organization 
and  the  people,  that  it  had  become  the  actual  hand 
gathering  from  the  criminal  and  depraved  classes 
an  immunity  tax  to  pass  it  on  to  the  men  who  held 
sway  over  the  politics  of  the  city.  A  portion  of 
this  money  naturally  stuck  to  the  fingers  of  the 
transferring  hand,  but  the  bulk  of  the  vast  sum 
collected  from  those  engaged  in  unlawful  enter 
prises  found  its  way  into  the  chests  of  the 
"machine." 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  Tammany 
was  doing  anything  but  what  the  opposing  polit 
ical  machine  would  have  done  had  it  succeeded 
in  getting  such  a  perfect  organization.  There 
had  been  a  time  when  the  great  Republican 
leaders  had  hoped  to  have  this  same  settled 
advantage.  They  had  been  led  by  no  less  bril 
liant  a  man  than  Senator  Conklin,  and  no  less 
shrewd  a  politician  than  Senator  Platt.  But  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  two  parties  differed  some 
what  in  character,  differed  just  enough  to  make 


CITY    POLITICS.  187 

it  impossible  for  the  Republicans  to  hold  their 
forces  solid,  whatever  the  issue.  The  influential 
leaders  of  the  independent  movements  had  gen 
erally  been  drawn  from  the  Republican  forces, 
and  the  machine  of  that  party  had  been  so  often 
crippled  by  defections  that  it  was  no  match  for 
the  closely  knit  and  solidly  constructed  machine 
of  its  elder  opponent.  And  so  New  York  city 
had  fallen  completely  under  the  domination  of 
Richard  Croker  and  his  lieutenants. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  says  of  the  conditions  existing 
at  the  time :  "  No  man  not  intimately  acquainted 
with  both  the  lower  and  humbler  sides  of  New 
York  life— for  there  is  a  wide  distinction  between 
the  two— can  realize  how  far  the  corruption, 
brought  about  by  these  conditions,  extended.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  the  utter  rot 
tenness  of  many  branches  of  the  city  adminis 
tration,  but  the  chief  center  of  it  was  in  the  Police 
Department.  Except  in  rare  instances,  where 
prominent  politicians  made  demands  which  could 
not  be  refused,  both  promotions  and  appoint 
ments  toward  the  close  of  Tammany  rule  were 
made  almost  solely  for  money,  and  the  prices 
were  discussed  with  cynical  frankness. ' ' 

"Writers  other  than  Mr.  Roosevelt  inform  us 


188  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

that  at  this  time  in  New  York  it  was  utterly 
impossible  for  a  man  to  secure  a  position  on  the 
police  force  of  New  York  city  without  payment 
of  a  set  price,  arranged  and  scheduled  with 
reference  solely  to  its  chances  for  blackmail. 
This  tariff  of  charges  ranged  from  two  to  three 
hundred  dollars  for  appointment  as  a  patrolman, 
to  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  promo 
tion  to  the  position  of  captain. 

Men  who  paid  thus  liberally  for  their  appoint 
ments  did  so  with  the  assurance,  if  not  openly 
then  implied,  that  they  would  not  be  censured  for 
pursuing  any  scheme  that  would  bring  them  a 
good  profit  on  the  investment,  so  long  as  they 
were  fair  in  the  division  of  the  spoils.  There 
was  but  one  way,  besides  that  of  open  robbery, 
by  which  they  could  reimburse  themselves  for 
the  original  outlay  and  profit  by  the  arrange 
ment,  and  that  was  by  blackmail.  But  those 
who  were  at  all  familiar  with  the  situation  did 
not  hesitate  to  take  the  chances.  The  system  of 
'  '  collections ' '  was  so  elaborate  and  complete  that 
the  chances  for  loss  were  small  and  the  promise 
of  big  returns  was  bright. 

Every  one  at  all  familiar  with  the  duties  of  an 
officer  of  police  can  readily  understand  how 


CITY    POLITICS.  189 

easily  he  might  play  the  part  of  a  robber  with 
immense  success,  if  he  was  confident  the  com 
plaints  that  might  be  lodged  against  him  would 
be  either  disregarded  or  pigeon-holed.  Confident 
in  his  position  he  could  levy  tribute  alike  on  the 
innocent  and  guilty.  Even  the  law  was  in  his 
favor,  and  the  more  sumptuary  the  laws  the 
better  his  chance  for  plunder.  If  a  saloon 
keeper  had  a  desire  to  conduct  his  business  within 
the  law,  so  as  to  be  beyond  the  power  of  the  black 
mailing  patrolman,  his  competitor  at  hand,  who 
contributed  to  the  corrupt  fund,  was  allowed  such 
liberal  license  that  the  man  who  would  have 
obeyed  the  law  was  either  forced  out  of  business 
or  compelled  to  adopt  the  dishonest  practices  of 
his  neighbors. 

That  this  picture  is  not  overdrawn  may  be 
gathered  from  statements  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  him 
self,  made  in  his  essay  on  "The  New  York 
Police,"  printed  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for 
September,  1897.  He  avers  that  the  system  of 
blackmail  had  honeycombed  every  department 
of  the  city  government;  that  while  the  money 
was  collected  from  many  different  sources, 
chiefly  from  the  gamblers,  liquor-sellers,  and  the 
keepers  of  disorderly  houses,  yet  "  every  form 


190  THEODORE    KOOSEVELT. 

of  vice  and  crime  contributed  more  or  less,  and 
a  great  many  respectable  people  who  were  igno 
rant  or  timid,  were  blackmailed  under  pretense 
of  forbidding  or  allowing  them  to  violate  obscure 
ordinances  and  the  like. ' ' 

Into  this  maelstrom  of  crime  and  corruption 
Mr.  Eoosevelt  charged  as  fearlessly  as  he  after 
ward  charged  at  the  head  of  his  Eough  Eiders 
up  San  Juan  Hill.  There  was  no  halting  for 
consultation  about  the  methods  to  be  pursued 
in  either  case.  Time  would  not  admit  of  it. 
The  enemy  was  there  before  him  and  must  be 
routed.  "In  administering  the  affairs  of  the 
police  force  we  found, ' '  he  says, '  '  as  might  have 
been  expected,  that  there  was  no  need  of  genius, 
nor  indeed  of  any  very  unusual  qualities.  What 
was  needed  was  exercise  of  the  plain,  ordinary 
virtues,  of  a  rather  commonplace  type,  which  all 
good  citizens  should  be  expected  to  possess. 
Common  sense,  common  honesty,  courage,  en 
ergy,  resolution,  readiness  to  learn  and  a  desire 
to  be  as  pleasant  with  everybody  as  was  com 
patible  with  a  strict  performing  of  duty— these 
were  the  qualities  most  called  for."  This  cata 
logue  of  ' l  ordinary  virtues ' 9  may  well  be  conned 
by  any  one  anxious  to  get  a  clear  understanding 


CITY    POLITICS.  191 

of  the  character  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  and  the  causes 
that  have  led  to  his  remarkable  success.  No  one 
of  them  but  he  has  kept  constantly  alive  through 
out  all  his  active  life  and  upon  them  he  has 
builded  solidly  and  well.  Standing  upon  this 
foundation  he  has  reached  sublime  heights  at 
an  age  when  most  men  are  satisfied  to  see  the 
first  dawn  of  permanent  establishment. 

In  the  exercise  of  his  duties  as  president  of 
the  Police  Board  Mr.  Eoosevelt  hastens  to  say 
that  in  spite  of  the  wide-spread  corruption  which 
had  obtained  in  the  New  York  police  department, 
the  bulk  of  the  men  were  heartily  desirous  of 
being  honest.  It  was  not  the  depravity  of  human 
nature  that  had  brought  about  a  state  of  affairs 
in  the  principal  city  of  the  republic  worse  in 
many  ways  than  any  that  ever  existed  under  an 
effete  monarchy.  It  was  the  mildew  blight  of 
political  * '  bossism ' '  reduced  to  a  science.  Every 
man  on  the  force  was  a  cog  in  a  great  Juggernaut 
that  was  rolling  over  the  body  of  Independence 
and  crushing  all  uprightness  out  of  its  life.  It 
needed  only  to  go  on  unchecked  for  a  few  more 
years  to  complete  its  work  of  national  debase 
ment.  Every  liberty-loving  citizen  may  be 
thankful  that  in  such  a  crucial  time  in  the  affairs 


192  THEODOKE    EOOSEVELT. 

of  his  country  a  man  was  at  hand  who  not  only 
foresaw  the  results  of  the  continuance  of  such  a 
policy,  but  was  brave  enough  to  attack,  and 
strong  enough  to  overthrow  it. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Roosevelt  on  the  board, 
as  treasurer,  was  Mr.  Avery  D.  Andrews.  He 
was  a  Democrat,  while  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  a 
Eepublican,  but  both  men  were  big  enough  to  put 
in  the  background  all  questions  of  national  poli 
tics,  on  which  they  widely  differed,  and  enter 
upon  the  work  of  reorganizing  the  police  force 
independently  of  all  party  bias.  Had  the  ques 
tion  of  party  policy  been  allowed  to  influence 
them  in  one  single  instance  the  work  they  did 
could  never  have  been  done.  At  least  they  would 
have  failed  in  doing  it.  "We  understood  from 
the  start,''  says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  "that  the  ques 
tion  of  party  could  not  enter  into  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  New  York  police,  if  that  adminis 
tration  was  to  be  both  honest  and  efficient ;  and 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  during  my  two  years '  service, 
Mr.  Andrews  and  I  worked  in  absolute  harmony 
on  every  important  question  of  policy  which 
arose.  The  prevention  of  blackmail  and  corrup 
tion,  the  repression  of  crime  and  violence,  safe 
guarding  of  life  and  property,  securing  honest 


CITY    POLITICS.  193 

elections,  and  rewarding  efficient  and  punishing 
inefficient  police  service,  are  not,  and  cannot 
properly  be  made,  questions  of  party  difference. ' ' 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  here  shows  how  well  he  has 
considered  the  question  of  party  fealty,  and  how 
naturally  he  has  settled  that  question  in  his 
mind.  If,  as  is  here  suggested,  the  police  force 
of  every  city  could  be  entirely  released  from  the 
influence  of  all  political  parties  it  would  speedily 
become  a  protection  to  the  people,  instead  of 
being  a  menace,  as  is  generally  the  case  in  the 
larger  American  cities. 

The  first  thing  Mr.  Eoosevelt  did  after  enter 
ing  upon  his  duties  was  to  acquaint  himself  with 
the  manner  in  which  the  officers  of  the  force  car 
ried  on  their  work,  both  good  and  bad.  This  he 
did  by  making  nightly  rounds  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  city,  traveling  quietly  and  unknown. 
In  these  investigations  he  was  often  accompanied 
by  Jacob  A.  Riis,  the  author  of  "How  the  Other 
Half  Lives, ' '  a  most  careful  and  painstaking  stu 
dent  of  social  questions. 

1 1  There  were  many  men  who  helped  us  in  our 
work, ' '  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  often  said,  "but  among 
them  all  the  man  who  helped  us  most,  by  advice 
and  counsel,  by  stalwart,  loyal  friendship,  and 


194  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

by  ardent  championship  of  all  that  was  good 
against  all  that  was  evil,  was  Jacob  A.  Riis." 
Those  who  have  followed  the  writings  of  Mr. 
Riis  with  sufficient  interest  to  recognize  how 
deeply  he  feels  the  sorrows  and  wrongs  of 
humanity  and  how  thoroughly  he  has  familiar 
ized  himself  with  the  lives  of  the  less  fortunate 
and  unsuccessful  of  the  great  cities,  will  be  glad 
that  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  possessed  of  that  trait  of 
fairness  that  prompts  him  always  to  give  full 
credit  to  every  one  who  is  associated  with  him 
in  any  enterprise,  whether  it  be  the  killing  of  a 
cougar,  or  the  taking  of  a  city.  It  is  this  charac 
teristic  that  has  enabled  him  to  keep  his  hold  on 
the  hearts  of  the  people  without  resorting  to  any 
of  those  common  tricks  of  oratory,  or  descending 
to  the  level  of  fulsome  flattery.  Neither  in  his 
writings  nor  his  speeches  has  Mr.  Roosevelt  ever 
missed  an  opportunity  to  declare  the  truth  as  he 
saw  it,  no  matter  whom  it  helped  or  hurt. 

This  was  the  spirit  that  actuated  him 
throughout  all  the  bitter  fight  that  followed  his 
attack  on  the  corrupt  methods  of  the  New  York 
police.  Once  he  had  familiarized  himself  suffi 
ciently  with  the  situation  to  be  sure  of  his  ground 
he  struck,  and  struck  hard.  During  his  nightly 


CITY    POLITICS.  195 

rounds  lie  had  caught  scores  of  the  police  in  dere 
liction  of  duty  and  he  dismissed  them  at  once 
from  the  service.     Others  whom  he  had  found 
worthy  he  promoted.    He  punished  and  rewarded 
after  a  plan  entirely  his  own.    Politics  ceased  to 
save  or  help  the  men  and  the  "  bosses "  were  up 
in  arms.     The  uproar  that  followed  had  never 
been  equaled  as  a  police  sensation  in  New  York. 
The  whole  force  was  in  a  state  of  fright.    The 
evil  element  that  had  so  long  found  protection 
through  contributions  to  the  officers  of  the  law 
suddenly  discovered  that  they  were  outlaws  to 
be  thrown  into  prison  and  punished  whenever 
they  were  caught  breaking  the  law.    Mr.  Roose 
velt 's  life  was  threatened,  and  twice  explosives 
were  placed  in  his  desk  with  the  evident  inten 
tion  of  assassination.    But  he  went  steadily  on 
with  his  work,  alike  deaf  to  the  threats  of  his 
enemies  and  the  supplications  of  his  friends.    In 
this  emergency  an  attempt  was  made  to  have 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  appointment  by  Mayor  Strong 
vetoed  by  the  council,  but  it  was  discovered  that 
an  act  of  the  legislature,  passed  some  twelve 
years  before,  had  taken  the  power  of  veto  from 
the    city    council.     Theodore    Roosevelt    was 
author  of  this  act,  and  its  passage  had  been 


196  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

secured  after  one  of  the  strongest  fights  he  had 
made  when  a  member  of  the  assembly. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  announced  that  he  would  en 
force  the  laws  as  he  found  them.  He  gave  special 
attention  to  the  operations  of  the  excise  law  on 
Sunday,  and  after  severe  measures  had  been 
used  with  some  of  the  more  hardy  saloon-keep 
ers,  New  York  at  last  had,  in  June,  1895,  for  the 
first  time  within  the  memory  of  living  man,  a 
"dry"  Sunday.  A  great  deal  of  good  was  done 
by  Commissioner  Roosevelt  in  breaking  up  much 
of  the  blackmail  which  had  been  levied  by  police 
men  ;  in  transferring  and  degrading  officers  who 
were  notoriously  responsible  for  the  bad  name 
the  force  had,  and  in  making  promotions  for 
merit,  fidelity  and  courage.  Mr.  Eoosevelt 's 
career  as  a  police  commissioner  made  him  ex 
tremely  unpopular  with  the  class  at  which  his 
crusade  was  aimed. 

The  fierce  crusade  against  the  saloon-keepers 
was  brief,  and  its  effect  lasted  but  a  few  weeks. 
The  new  commissioner  gave  his  attention  to 
more  important  matters,  and  really  made  the 
force  cleaner  than  it  had  been  before.  He 
undoubtedly  gained  the  hearty  devotion  of  the 
better  class  of  policemen.  He  was  most  careful 


CITY    POLITICS.  197 

of  their  comfort,  and  quick  to  see  and  reward 
merit.  He  was  also  quick  to  punish,  and  this 
kept  the  worse  half  of  the  men  on  their  good 
behavior. 

One  important  result  Mr.  Roosevelt  obtained 
in  this  position  was  the  dissipation  of  much  of 
the  antagonism  which  had  theretofore  been  ap 
parent  on  every  occasion  between  labor  unions 
and  the  force.  Men  on  a  strike  had  been  accus 
tomed  to  regard  the  policeman  as  a  natural 
enemy,  but  all  this  was  changed.  On  one  occa 
sion,  when  a  large  number  of  operatives  were 
out  of  work,  Mr.  Roosevelt  sent  for  their  leaders, 
and,  after  a  discussion  of  the  situation,  suggested 
that  the  strikers  should  organize  pickets  to  keep 
their  own  men  in  order.  He  promised  that  the 
police  should  support  and  respect  the  rights  of 
these  pickets  and  the  result  was  most  satisfac 
tory.  The  threat  of  a  cordon  of  police  was 
removed  from  the  strikers,  and  no  collisions  such 
as  had  occurred  on  so  many  similar  occasions 
took  place  with  the  guardians  of  the  law. 

The  attacks  of  the  enemies  which  Mr.  Roose 
velt's  methods  raised  up  against  him  were  not 
confined  to  verbal  denunciation,  nor  expressions 
through  the  press.  As  has  been  said  above, 


198  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

dynamite  bombs  were  left  in  his  office.  A  part  of 
his  associates  on  the  police  board  fought  his  every 
move,  and  all  the  skill  of  New  York  politicians 
with  whom  he  interfered  was  exercised  to  trap 
him  into  a  situation  where  he  would  become  dis 
credited  in  his  work.  In  this  they  were  unsuc 
cessful  and  the  stormy  career  of  the  police  force 
continued.  In  the  end  the  new  commissioner 
conquered.  He  had  the  necessary  power  and  the 
personal  courage  and  tenacity  of  purpose  to 
carry  out  his  plans.  He  fought  blackmail  until 
he  had  practically  stopped  it,  and  he  promoted 
and  removed  men  without  regard  to  color,  creed 
or  politics.  He  resigned  in  April,  1897,  to  be 
come  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


CHAPTER  XL 

ASSISTANT  SECKETARY  OF  THE  NAVY. 

REBUILDS  THE  AMERICAN  NAVY— INTRODUCES  TARGET  PRACTICE 
WITH  POWDER  AND  BALL— ACTIVE  IN  PREPARATION  FOR  WAR 
WITH  SPAIN— ADVISES  ORDERING  COMMODORE  DEWEY  TO  THE 
CHINA  STATION— RESIGNS  FOR  ACTIVE  DUTY  IN  THE  FIELD. 

President  McKinley  was  first  inaugurated 
March  4,  1897.  He  immediately  announced 
Ms  cabinet  selections,  and  as  quickly  thereafter 
as  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
could  effect  a  reorganization  of  his  department, 
Theodore  Eoosevelt  was  made  First  Assistant 
Secretary,  and  really  the  executive  officer— the 
controlling  and  directing  force— of  that  very 
important  arm  of  the  nation's  power.  The 
appointment  was  most  fitting,  as  his  "  Naval 
History  of  the  War  of  1812"  had  proved  him 
as  completely  master  of  the  subject  as  any  man 
not  trained  to  a  naval  life  could  possibly  be. 

Years  before  a  sentiment  of  hostility  against 
Spain  had  grown  up  in  the  minds  of  the  Ameri 
can  people.  It  was  never  officially  recognized, 


199 


200  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

and  the  Madrid  government  had  always  been 
treated  as  a  friendly  power  by  each  successive 
administration  at  Washington. 

It  would  scarcely  be  exact  to  state  that  the 
antipathy  mentioned  went  even  in  the  most 
aggressive  minds  to  the  extent  of  a  desire  for 
the  conquest  or  the  humiliation  of  Spain,  beyond 
one  single  consideration.  It  was  felt  that  the 
Spaniard  should  be  driven  from  Cuba.  The  sur 
face  sentiment  was  that  Cuba  should  be  free. 
Beneath  that,  doubtless,  rested  the  hope,  in  many 
minds,  that  the  island,  with  all  its  riches  and  its 
possibilities,  should  be  added  to  American  terri 
tory.  The  terms  of  that  accession  had  never  been 
crystallized  into  anything  like  a  national  senti 
ment.  Probably  they  had  never  been  formu 
lated  in  the  mind  of  any  adventurer  who  made 
essay  for  the  liberation  of  the  Cuban.  But  the 
student,  the  observer  of  great  affairs,  the  man 
capable  of  estimating  international  causes  and 
effects,  knew  that  whenever  collision  came— and 
its  coming  was  certain— Cuba  would  not  only 
be  wrested  from  the  Spanish  crown,  but  would 
become  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  the  century-old  habit  of  hermit 
age  would  be  broken  by  the  people  of  the  grow- 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR.  201 

ing  American  Republic.  Unnumbered  filibuster 
ing  expeditions  had  been  directed  by  adventurers 
in  America  against  Spanish  rule  in  the  island, 
and  in  spite  of  repressive  efforts  from  Washing 
ton,  the  whole  nation  was  permeated  with  the 
feeling  that  America's  relations  with  Cuba 
should  be  changed.  It  is  possible  there  was  a 
commercial  element  in  the  make-up  of  that  con 
clusion:  the  island  annually  exported  $100,- 
000,000  in  produce,  ninety-three  per  cent,  of 
which  came  to  the  United  States.  It  may  be  the 
sentiment  of  self-defense  operated  as  a  cause: 
the  peril  of  the  plague,  hurrying  from  Havana 
to  American  cities,  was  a  continually  impending 
fate.  But  running  through  all  other  considera 
tions  was  the  one  of  humane  feeling.  The  peo 
ple  of  Cuba  were  grievously  used  by  the  Span 
iards,  and  had  been  for  three  centuries.  In  the 
year  1896  it  happened  that  a  singularly  savage 
policy  of  repression  had  been  inaugurated  by 
Spain  toward  the  people  of  the  island,  and  the 
whole  civilized  world  was  shocked  at  the  atroci 
ties  practiced.  It  is  idle  to  pause  now  and  reca 
pitulate  the  enormity  of  those  offenses  against 
justice.  All  mankind  knows  there  was  warrant 
for  compelling  the  Spaniard  to  halt. 


202  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

It  should  also  be  remembered  that  the  spirit 
of  Americans  had  been  roused  by  the  conditions 
obtaining  in  the  island,  and  that  common  justice 
approved  the  policy  of  intervention— no  matter 
what  the  national  courtesy  of  the  Government 
may  have  been.  There  was  Narciso  Lopez,  who 
more  than  forty  years  before  had  led  an  expedi 
tion  for  the  freeing  of  Cuba.  There  was  the 
landing  of  Captain  Fry  and  his  adventurers  at 
Santiago,  their  capture  by  the  Spaniards— and 
the  execution  of  sixty  men,  mostly  American 
citizens.  There  had  been  other  adventures  in 
the  interim,  and  the  national  conventions  of  both 
great  parties  had  declared  time  and  again  for  the 
freedom  of  the  island  people.  Extremists  knew 
the  status  quo  could  not  long  be  maintained.  But 
there  were  few  even  of  the  wisest  men  who  under 
stood  the  full  import  of  that  sentiment  existing 
throughout  America,  and  not  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  alone ;  nor  did  they  even  speculate  on  the 
means  of  directing  the  sentiment  to  a  realiza 
tion  in  fact. 

Mr.  Eoosevelt  had  been  for  years  an  advo 
cate  of  a  broader  policy  for  the  nation.  It  was 
as  clear  to  him  that  Spain  must  leave  the  West 
ern  continent  as  it  should  have  been  to  Massasoit 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR.  203 

'that  the  Indians  would  have  to  leave  New  Eng 
land.  In  that  departure  from  traditional  policy 
which  must  be  expressed  by  interference  in 
Cuba,  he  knew  there  would  be  a  breaking  up  and 
a  general  readjustment  of  relations  in  every 
quarter  of  the  world,  and  that  the  United  States, 
being  now  fully  prepared,  was  in  a  day  to  become 
a  world-nation. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  fortunate  than 
his  selection  for  the  chief  executive  office  in  the 
navy  department.  It  was  the  one  arm  that  could 
be  made  to  reach  around  the  world.  And  it  was 
fortunate  that  so  well-equipped  a  man  came  to 
the  station.  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  studied  the  navy 
of  the  United  States.  He  had  compared  it  crit^ 
ically  with  the  navies  of  the  world,  both  of  the 
present  and  in  the  more  remote  past.  lie  was 
the  friend  and  confidant  of  Captain  Mahan,  an 
authority  on  naval  matters.  He  visited  the 
Army  and  Navy  Club,  and  became  familiar  with 
the  details  of  life  in  his  chosen  branch  of  the 
service,  with  the  record  of  the  officers,  and  with 
the  nature  of  the  rank  and  file.  He  knew  pre 
cisely  how  well-equipped  for  battle  each  ship 
was,  if  battle  should  suddenly  arise.  He  went 
on  a  tour  of  inspection,  and  woke  the  officers 


204  THEODOEE    KOOSEVELT. 

and  men  to  a  realization  that  millions  spent  for 
ships  and  equipment  could  not  alone  provide  an 
efficient  navy. 

Within  those  hurrying  months  from  the 
spring  of  1897,  when  he  was  appointed,  to  the 
day  in  1898  when  he  resigned,  Mr.  Koosevelt 
caused  every  ship  to  be  put  in  readiness  for 
actual  service.  He  had  their  bunkers  filled  with 
coal,  and  impressed  their  commanders  with  the 
necessity  of  maintaining  a  supply.  He  had  the 
crews  filled  by  enlistment,  and  the  official  list 
weeded  of  material  that  could  not  be  depended 
upon.  He  ordered  target-practice  with  powder 
and  ball— and  that  was  an  innovation  which 
called  forth  a  good  deal  of  criticism  at  the  time. 
It  had  been  the  general  habit,  not  often  varied, 
to  make  target-practice  simply  a  matter  of  quick 
and  orderly  handling  of  the  guns.  It  seemed  a 
woeful  waste  of  money  to  shoot  valuable  steel  and 
iron  at  an  inoffensive  mark.  But  there  was  no 
other  way  in  which  to  perfect  officers  in  finding 
the  range,  or  gunners  in  accuracy  of  aim.  He 
saw  the  unprepared  condition  of  American  ships 
in  the  China  Sea,  a  condition  that  would  be 
embarrassing  indeed  if  circumstances  should 
arise  requiring  movement  against  Spain  in  the 


PEEPAEING    FOE    WAE.  205 

far  Pacific.  And  he  caused  ammunition  to  be 
sent  to  that  station,  and  held  there  pending 
demand. 

And,  above  all  things,  as  the  day  of  collision 
with  Spain  came  inevitably  nearer,  he  ordered 
Commodore  Dewey  to  the  China  station  with  a 
fleet  fully  equal  to  all  demands  that  could  be 
made  upon  it. 

Meantime  events  in  the  United  States  were 
swiftly  tending  to  war.  It  was  impossible  for  a 
nation  of  the  culture  and  justice  realized  in  the 
United  States  to  permit  without  protest  the  sav 
age  atrocities  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  West 
Indies.  The  people  of  Cuba  had  begun  their 
revolution  in  1895,  and  the  warlike  Campos  had 
been  unable  to  suppress  them.  He  was  recalled 
to  Madrid,  and  Weyler  was  sent  in  his  stead. 
This  latter  officer,  ineradicably  established  in  the 
enduring  gallery  of  infamy,  had  served  his 
country  well  in  the  Philippines.  He  had  crushed 
a  rebellion  there,  and  he  came,  fresh  with  the 
laurels  of  an  Alva  or  a  Caligula,  to  the  work  of 
throttling  human  freedom  on  the  very  threshold 
of  the  American  Eepublic.  Every  day  Ameri 
cans  were  learning  more  and  more  of  the  cruelty 
of  his  rule.  His  celebrated  l '  reconcentrado " 


206  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

order,  which  swept  the  population  from  their 
farms  and  huddled  them  in  the  towns,  treating  as 
rebels  all  who  did  not  come  in ;  abusing,  insult 
ing,  outraging  and  starving  those  who  came, 
passed  into  history  as  the  climax  of  executive 
barbarity.  Statesmen  from  America,  loath  to 
move  unadvisedly,  went  to  Cuba  and  made  a  per 
sonal  investigation  of  conditions  there.  John  M. 
Thurston,  United  States  Senator  from  Nebraska, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  was  one  of  those  who 
sought  a  personal  assurance  by  a  visit  to  the 
troubled  island.  Mrs.  Thurston,  worn  with  labor 
for  the  suffering,  crushed  by  the  spectacle  of 
such  cruelty,  died  on  her  return  to  Washington  ; 
and  her  husband,  in  one  of  the  most  notable 
addresses  ever  delivered  there,  pleaded  for  inter 
vention  in  the  name  of  that  broad  humanity 
which  all  the  world  could  appreciate.  She  had 
been  a  woman  of  keen  sensibilities  and  large 
charity.  She  had  seen  the  starving  and  naked 
women  and  children  lying  in  the  sun,  in  cities  to 
which  they  had  been  driven  and  from  which  they 
could  not  escape,  gazing  with  unwinking,  un 
comprehending  eyes  at  the  visitors;  and  she 
had  seen  them  die. 

When  her  sorrowing  husband  rose  to  address 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR.  207 

the  Senate  he  said :  "I  have  a  right  to  speak.  I 
give  to  you  a  message  from  silent  lips ;  and  if  I 
held  my  peace  when  such  a  question  is  under 
discussion,  if  I  refrained  from  testifying  to  the 
atrocious  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  people  of 
Cuba,  I  should  falter  in  my  trust ;  I  should  fail 
in  my  duty  to  one  whose  heart  was  broken  while 
a  nation  hesitated. ' ' 

He  was  one  of  many  whose  voice  was  for 
intervention,  even  though  intervention  should 
mean  war.  Without  regard  to  party,  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  more  unitedly  than  they 
ever  had  been  before  on  a  question  of  such 
import,  urged  Congress  and  the  President  to 
move  for  the  relief  of  Cuba.  But  the  executive 
end  of  the  Government  was— as  it  should  have 
been— conservative  to  the  last.  There  was  to  be 
no  blind  rushing  into  war,  no  official  action 
which  should  precipitate  a  conflict  between 
nations,  if  any  less  costly  course  could  be  found. 
In  the  very  midst  of  that  pause,  when  popular 
clamor  and  administrative  reserve  held  equally 
balanced  through  the  midwinter  season,  came 
the  one  astounding  event  which  swelled  the  pop 
ular  clamor  to  a  roar,  and  stilled  utterly  the  voice 
of  caution. 


208  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

The  Maine  was  blown  up ! 

Lying  in  the  harbor  of  a  nation  still 
" friendly, ' '  in  the  "noon  of  the  night,"  an 
American  battle-ship  on  a  visit  of  courtesy  was 
destroyed  by  a  submarine  mine  in  the  supposed 
security  of  Havana  harbor.  Captain  Sigsbee, 
of  the  sunken  craft,  appealed  to  the  American 
people  for  a  suspension  of  judgment  until  an 
investigation  could  be  had.  But  the  nation  had 
decided.  The  case  had  been  tried.  The  Span 
iards  were  found  guilty  in  the  court  of  American 
common  sense.  The  Maine  was  blown  up  on  the 
night  of  February  15,  1898.  April  20  President 
McKinley  cabled  to  Minister  Woodford,  at  Ma 
drid,  the  ultimatum  of  the  United  States :  Spain 
must  retire  from  Cuba  and  Cuban  waters  within 
thirty  days,  or  take  the  consequences.  The  next 
day,  before  he  could  present  the  demand  of  his 
Government,  General  Woodford  was  handed  his 
passports,  by  order  of  the  ministry  at  Madrid, 
and  thus  officially  terminated  the  friendly  rela 
tions  of  the  two  governments.  It  was  the  final 
act  in  a  remarkable  succession  of  events  which 
proved  Spain's  contempt  for  the  United  States— 
which  illustrated  her  remarkable  ignorance 
both  of  the  power  against  which  she  flung  her- 


MR.    ROOSEVELT,    AS   ASSISTANT   SECRETARY   OF   THE    NAVY, 
IN    HIS   OFFICE   AT   WASHINGTON 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR.  209 

self  and  the  result  that  was  morally  certain  to 
follow. 

April  25  Congress,  responding  to  a  special 
message  from  the  President,  declared  war  with 
Spain  to  be  in  existence,  and  that  it  had  existed 
since  April  21,  when  Spain  herself  had  severed 
relations  with  our  Government.  That  same  day 
the  President's  proclamation  was  given  to  the 
world.  And  the  end  for  which  so  many  forces  of 
humanity,  of  justice  and  of  national  and  individ 
ual  interest  had  labored  through  fifty  years  was 
accomplished.  The  protest  of  a  Christian  nation 
against  such  savagery  as  heathens  have  not 
equaled  was  recorded. 

It  is  a  little  curious  to  reflect  just  here  on  the 
service  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  rendered  his  country 
in  the  short  year  of  his  labor  in  the  navy  depart 
ment.  So  far  as  the  army  was  concerned,  there 
was  a  distressing  state  of  < '  unpreparedness. '  ' 
The  word  is  not  agreeable  to  the  ear,  but  it 
expresses  the  situation  wonderfully  well.  So  far 
as  numbers  went,  the  army  was  wholly  inade 
quate.  A  new  force  had  to  be  secured.  Volun 
teers  must  be  called  for.  They  must  be  armed, 
clothed,  equipped,  paid  and  drilled.  Not  one 
step  had  been  taken  in  preparation  for  the  event 


210  THEODORE    EOOSEVELT. 

which  all  men  knew  was  certain  to  come.  The 
legal  limit  of  the  regular  army  was  twenty-five 
thousand  men ;  and  it  did  not  contain  so  many. 
There  was  no  clothing  for  the  ~  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  volunteers  called  for  by  the 
President— and  they  offered  themselves  without 
delay.  There  were  no  arms  for  them.  They 
lacked  ammunition,  especially  the  smokeless 
powder  which  is  necessary  for  the  best  results 
in  warfare.  Not  only  must  men  be  recruited,  but 
they  must  be  officered,  organized  into  an  effective 
force  and  provided  with  all  that  an  army  needs 
for  battle  or  for  camp. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  navy  was  ready.  And 
there  is  no  more  significant  fact  in  the  whole  his 
tory  of  the  period  than  that  the  arm  of  the  serv 
ice  which  was  first  called  upon  to  bear  the  brunt 
of  the  struggle  was  prepared  at  the  first  demand. 
The  navy  struck  the  first  blow.  Commodore 
Dewey  was  informed  at  Yokohama  of  the 
strained  relations  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain.  He  assembled  his  squadron  at  Hong- 
Kong,  and  was  ready  for  any  orders  that  might 
come  to  him.  He  had  plenty  of  coal,  provided 
by  the  assistant  secretary  of  the  navy.  He  had 
an  abundance  of  ammunition,  which  had  been 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR.  211 

hurried  from  the  United  States  months  before. 
He  had  officers  selected  from  the  whole  list  in 
commission  for  their  fitness  and  their  readiness 
for  orders.  He  had  a  crew  on  every  ship  trained 
to  every  detail  of  work,  hardened  by  drill  and 
efficient  through  practice.  And  there  was  not  a 
vessel  in  his  squadron  which  lacked  even  the 
smallest  detail  in  preparation  for  any  struggle, 
no  matter  how  severe. 

It  is  idle  here  to  tell  again  the  battle  of  Manila 
Bay.  Some  have  arisen  with  sneering  criticism 
of  the  inequality  in  that  struggle,  describing  the 
enemy 's  squadron  as  "a  lot  of  tubs."  Yet  they 
were  capable  war-vessels,  and  fought  from  the 
protection  of  forts  which  are  always  conceded  to 
have  an  advantage.  If  Admiral  Dewey  had  led 
to  that  task  the  navy  of  1897  he  might  have  won  ; 
but  he  would  have  paid  for  victory  in  the  lives  of 
American  sailors,  and  in  the  loss  of  vessels  that 
at  the  time  could  ill  have  been  spared.  Prepared 
as  he  was  by  Mr.  Roosevelt 's  orders,  he  surpassed 
Salamis— and  lost  neither  ship  nor  man.'  The 
event  is  without  parallel  in  all  the  history  of 
naval  battles. 

Similarly,  in  the  Western  ocean,  the  same  con 
dition  of  "  preparedness ' '  was  observed.  Mr. 


212  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

Roosevelt  brought  to  the  duties  of  his  office  a 
great  interest  in  the  work,  as  well  as  a  tremendous 
energy  and  talent  for  closely  studying  and  mas 
tering  his  task,  which  had  characterized  him  in 
other  fields.  He  also  brought  to  these  restful 
members  of  the  navy  department  some  of  his 
startling  methods,  and  again  proved  himself  the 
' l  storm  center, ' '  a  name  which  had  already  been 
given  to  him,  and  to  which  he  was  better  entitled 
than  any  other  man  in  public  life.  In  the  fall  of 
1897  he  was  detailed  to  inspect  the  fleet  in  Hamp 
ton  Roads,  and  he  kept  the  commanders  and  their 
jackies  in  a  ferment  for  a  week.  Whenever  he 
thought  of  a  drill  he  would  like  to  see,  he  ordered 
it.  The  crews  were  called  to  quarters  at  night, 
and  all  sorts  of  emergency  orders  were  given,  at 
various  hours.  When  the  assistant  secretary 
came  back  to  Washington  to  report,  he  had  at 
least  mastered  some  of  the  important  details  of 
the  situation,  and  the  "  Flying  Squadron "  was 
insured  against  any  sort  of  surprise. 

So 'far  as  human  foresight  and  official  pro 
vision  could  manage,  the  navy  was  ready.  The 
"Flying  Squadron "  haunted  the  shores  of  Cuba, 
gathering  prizes,  closing  the  gates  of  harbors 
to  reinforcements,  or  "bottling  them  up,"  and 


PBEPAKING    FOE    WAR.  213 

waiting  in  grim  silence  for  the  hour  of  their 
sure  destruction.  The  powerful  Oregon  was 
summoned  in  haste  from  the  Pacific,  and  while 
Spain  was  thus  checked  in  the  one  effectual  man 
ner,  that  army  which  had  not  existed  when  war 
was  declared  had  been  recruited,  armed,  drilled 
and  equipped,  and  had  landed  in  Cuba.  One  of 
the  most  reliable  histories  of  the  war  with  Spain 
contains  this  passage:  "The  first  fight  by  sol 
diers  in  General  Shafter's  army  of  invasion 
occurred  June  24,  five  miles  from  Santiago  de 
Cuba— so  far  had  the  Americans  penetrated. 
Two  troops  of  the  First  Cavalry,  two  troops  of 
the  Tenth  Cavalry,  and  four  troops  of  Roose 
velt's  'Rough  Riders'— less  than  a  thousand  men 
in  all— dismounted  and  attacked  two  thousand 
Spanish  soldiers  in  the  thickets.  They  beat  back 
the  enemy  to  the  very  outworks  of  the  city,  but 
they  left  seventeen  dead  in  that  fierce  struggle, 
that  passage  in  a  war  for  humanity. ' ' 

All  who  are  familiar  with  the  records  of  those 
years  know  the  names  of  the  men  most  active  in 
fanning  the  flame  of  war.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  name  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  never  men 
tioned  as  adding  fuel  to  that  flame.  But  while 
Senator  Mason  thundered  at  the  doors  of  the 


214  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

White  House,  demanding  a  declaration  of  war— 
whether  or  no;  while  congressmen  from  every 
section  of  the  country,  and  from  the  councils  of 
every  party,  were  writing  down  their  country 
men  as  cowards  for  not  hastening  to  a  conflict 
that  was  more  expected  than  prepared  for— Mr. 
Eoosevelt  was  working  night  and  day  in  an 
effort  to  fit  the  navy  for  fighting.  And  the 
moment  war  was  declared  and  his  work  there  was 
ended,  he  resigned  his  comfortable  office  and 
hurried  to  the  field.  He  could  have  remained  as 
executive  head  of  the  navy  department,  assisting 
greatly  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  But  he 
preferred  to  leave  the  ease  of  office  to  others,  and 
take  himself  a  share  in  the  struggle.  It  was  to 
him  the  nation  is  indebted  for  the  formation  of 
that  force  known  as  the  "  Rough  Riders. "  It 
was  due  to  his  initiative,  his  energy,  his  contin 
ual  efforts  that  they  were  prepared  so  swiftly, 
and  waited  so  early  at  the  point  of  embarkation. 
It  was  due  to  his  ability  as  a  commander  that 
they  behaved  so  well  under  fire,  and  wholly  due 
to  his  habit  of  sharing  every  danger  and  every 
hardship  with  them  that  the  men  of  his  com 
mand—and  all  other  commands  in  the  land 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR.  215 

forces  before  Santiago— routed  an  intrenched 
foe,  and  defeated  a  regular  army. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  him  in  battle, 
yet  he  bore  himself  well  there.  He  gave  no  evi 
dence  of  fear.  He  was  careful  in  the  handling  of 
his  men,  and  exposed  them  to  no  unnecessary 
peril.  But  he  led  them  when  they  went  into 
danger.  He  did  not  follow.  And  when  battles 
were  over  he  gave  to  his  men  all  the  tender  care 
that  loving  duty  could  inspire,  and  shared  with 
them,  on  every  occasion,  the  glory  that  their 
deeds  and  his  had  earned.  A  recent  writer  has 
said  of  him:  "As  assistant  secretary  of  the 
navy,  he  was  virtually  head  of  the  department. 
He  was  a  Carnot  who  ' organized  victory.'  He 
foresaw  the  Spanish  war  a  year  before  it  came, 
and  collected  ammunition,  insisted  on  the  prac 
tice  for  improving  marksmanship  on  board  all 
the  vessels,  and  MADE  THE  NAVY  READY."  Said 
the  late  Senator  Cushman  K.  Davis,  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  foreign  relations:  "If  it 
had  not  been  for  Eoosevelt,  Dewey  would  not 
have  been  able  to  strike  the  blow  that  he  dealt 
at  Manila.  Eoosevelt 's  sagacity,  energy  and 
promptness  saved  us."  One  of  the  most  famous 


216  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

publications  said  in  a  recent  issue :  ' '  When  the 
war  of  1898  started  Mr.  Koosevelt  was  one  of  the 
first  to  enter  it.  He  attracted  to  his  banner  the 
most  typical  corps— college  graduates,  plains 
men,  polo-players,  and  cowboys— of  Americans 
who  served  in  the  war.  And  he  gave  himself 
and  them  a  world  reputation  as  fighters. ' ' 

Probably  never  before  in  the  history  of  a 
country  has  so  remarkable  a  thing  happened. 
Here  was  a  man  who  could  prepare  a  navy  for 
swift  and  effective  assault,  send  it  to  victory  with 
the  first  bugle-call  of  war,  and  then  organize  and 
lead  to  triumph  ashore  a  band  of  fighting  men 
who  were  capable  of  following  such  leadership 
against  any  foe  in  the  world.  It  is  not  easy  to 
discover  a  parallel. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

FOKMATION  OF  THE  KOUGH   EIDEKS. 

FRIENDSHIP  TOR  COLONEL  WOOD — A  MONTH  WELL  SAVED — COW 
BOYS,  CLUBMEN  AND  HUNTERS  RALLY  TO  HIS  STANDARD  — 
BEST  FIGHTING  MATERIAL  THAT  EVER  MARCHED  TO  THE 
FIELD  — DRILLING,  PREPARING  AND  EMBARKING  — THE  LANDING 
ON  CUBAN  SOIL. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  had  done  all  that  could  be  done 
in  the  navy  department.  So  far  as  the  supervi 
sion  and  power  of  man  could  effect  it,  the  navy 
was  ready;  and  the  striking  of  that  blow  at 
Spanish  commerce  when  the  Ventura  was  cap 
tured  between  Key  West  and  Havana  proved  the 
state  of  preparedness  which  existed  on  the  ocean. 
The  swiftly  following  victory  of  Commodore 
Dewey  at  Manila  established  the  case  even  more 
completely,  for  the  most  remarkable  victory  in 
all  naval  history  had  been  achieved.  And  now 
that  war  was  surely  on,  this  man  who  saw  the 
results  of  his  foresight  and  provision  in  that 
branch  of  the  service,  started  to  find  a  way  in 
which  he  could  assist  in  leading  the  land  forces 

217 


218  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

in  the  fight  which  he  had  helped  to  induce  Amer 
icans  to  make.  Just  what  should  be  the  method 
of  procedure  he  did  not  know.  He  had  met 
in  Washington  in  the  winter  of  1897-98  Dr. 
Leonard  Wood,  a  surgeon  in  the  regular  army, 
who  had  seen  active  service  on  the  frontier,  and 
who  was  medical  adviser  of  both  the  President 
and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Dr.  Wood 
was  a  powerful,  forceful  man,  and  Mr.  Koose- 
velt  became  very  much  attached  to  him.  They 
rode  or  walked  about  the  city,  took  exercise 
together,  and  each  found  the  other  the  sort  of 
man  to  be  depended  upon.  As  they  walked  or 
rode  they  talked  of  the  certainly  approaching 
war.  Both  wanted  to  get  into  the  service.  Both 
believed  the  struggle  would  be  of  short  duration 
-unless  some  other  nation  in  Europe  should 
come  to  the  assistance  of  Spain ;  and  neither  had 
the  patience  to  wait  for  the  slow  movements  of 
the  regular  army.  Both  were  agreed  that  effect 
ive  blows  must  be  struck  at  once  by  the  army  as 
by  the  navy ;  that  lives  would  be  preserved,  and 
treasure  saved  from  wasting  if  the  advances  of 
the  United  States  forces  could  be  accomplished 
without  delay. 

It  was  principally  through  the  efforts  of  Mr. 


ROUGH    RIDERS.  219 

Roosevelt  that  Congress  provided  for  the  forma 
tion  of  three  volunteer  cavalry  regiments  re 
cruited  from  the  plainsmen,  sharpshooters  and 
hard  riders  of  the  Southwest ;  and  as  soon  as  this 
was  done  Secretary  Alger  tendered  him  the  com 
mand  of  one  of  those  regiments.  But  he  had 
never  overestimated  himself.  He  secured  for 
Dr.  Wood  the  command  of  that  regiment,  for 
he  knew  the  latter  was  fully  prepared  for  the 
duty ;  and  he  took  second  place.  Colonel  Wood, 
armed  with  his  new  commission,  hurried  to  the 
Southwest  to  recruit  and  equip  his  men,  while 
Mr.  Roosevelt  performed  a  far  more  important 
service  at  the  time  by  remaining  in  Washington 
to  secure  the  assistance  that  must  always  come 
from  headquarters  and  which  would  never  have 
been  obtained  if  an  energetic,  persistent  and 
fully  informed  man  had  not  been  upon  the 
ground  to  compel  it.  When  he  had  made  all  his 
arrangements  there,  he  had  accomplished  the 
remarkable  feat  of  saving  a  month.  Those  thirty 
days  were  of  the  greatest  possible  value  to  the 
nation.  Organized  in  the  ordinary  manner,  with 
officers  two  thousand  miles  from  Washington, 
the  Rough  Riders  would  not  have  been  ready 
for  service  before  midsummer.  There  was  a 


220  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

prejudice  against  them,  anyway.  The  depart 
ments  had  a  long-established  habit  of  according 
chief  consideration  to  the  regular  army.  When 
other  volunteer  commands  were  clamoring  for 
belts  and  blankets,  Mr.  Koosevelt's  regiment  was 
waiting— armed,  accoutered,  drilled  and  ready, 
leaning  from  the  piers  at  Tampa,  and  yearning 
for  the  conflict  in  Cuba. 

He  had  drawn  to  the  command  men  from 
every  walk  of  life,  and  he  greeted  them  cordially 
when  he  arrived  from  Washington.  Scarcely  a 
man  of  his  thousand  but  was  personally  known 
to  him.  Some  were  hunters.  Some  were  cow 
boys.  Some  were  graduates  of  colleges,  with 
enviable  records  in  the  field  of  athletic  sports. 
Some  were  clubmen,  possessed  of  wealth,  but 
possessed  of  strength,  energy  and  enthusiasm  as 
well.  He  understood  the  grim  exigencies  of  war, 
and  knew  that  no  preparation  for  a  frolic  could 
be  proper  preparation  for  a  campaign,  no  mat 
ter  how  decrepit  the  enemy.  He  could  not  be 
certain  that  all  these  rich  young  men  had  counted 
the  cost,  and  he  was  afraid  they  would  find  it 
hard  to  serve— not  for  a  few  days,  but  for 
months,  or  perhaps  years— in  the  ranks,  while  he, 
their  former  intimate  associate,  was  a  field-offi- 


BOUGH    EIDERS.  221 

cer.  But  they  insisted  that  they  knew  their 
minds,  and  the  event  showed  that  they  did. 
Before  allowing  them  to  be  sworn  in  he  gath 
ered  them  together  and  explained  that  if  they 
went  in  they  must  be  prepared  not  merely  to 
fight,  but  to  perform  the  weary,  monotonous  labor 
incident  to  the  ordinary  routine  of  a  soldier's 
life ;  that  they  must  be  ready  to  face  fever  exactly 
as  they  were  ready  to  face  bullets ;  that  they  were 
to  obey  unquestioningly,  and  to  do  their  duty,  if 
called  upon  to  garrison  a  fort,  as  readily  as  if 
sent  to  the  front.  He  warned  them  that  work 
which  was  irksome  and  disagreeable  must  be 
performed  as  willingly  as  work  that  was  danger 
ous.  He  had  no  fears  of  them  as  to  the  latter, 
and  he  told  them  that  they  were  entirely  at  lib 
erty  not  to  go;  but  that  after  they  had  once 
signed  there  could  be  no  backing  out.  They  had 
the  option  of  going  or  of  remaining  at  home. 
Not  a  man  of  them  backed  cut— not  a  man  of 
them  failed  to  do  his  whole  duty. 

Generally  they  were  of  the  fighting  sort. 
There  were  sheriffs  and  marshals  from  Arizona 
and  Texas,  owners  of  mines  who  had  fought 
their  way  up  from  the  pick  and  shovel  to  the  bank 
account.  There  was  Buckey  0  'Neill  of  Arizona, 


222  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

and  Captain  Llewellyn  of  New  Mexico.  There 
was  Lieutenant  Ballard,  who  had  broken  up  the 
" Black  Jack"  gang  on  the  border,  and  Captain 
Curry,  a  New  Mexican  gun-fighter  of  fame. 
There  was  Micah  Jenkins,  of  South  Carolina,  a 
gentle  and  courteous  gentleman  on  whom  danger 
acted  like  wine;  and  there  was  Allyn  Capron, 
fourth  in  a  line  of  soldiers— rated  by  Mr.  Eoose- 
velt  as  perhaps  the  best  soldier  in  the  regiment. 

One  may  be  pardoned  for  quoting  the  fol 
lowing  passage  from  Colonel  Eoosevelt's  own 
book,  "The  Eough  Eiders": 

"The  men  generally  gave  one  another  nick 
names,  largely  conferred  in  a  spirit  of  derision, 
their  basis  lying  in  contrast.  A  brave  but  fastid 
ious  member  of  an  Eastern  club,  who  was  serv 
ing  in  the  ranks,  was  christened  i Tough  Ike'; 
and  his  bunkie,  the  man  who  shared  his  shelter- 
tent,  and  who  was  a  decidedly  rough  cow- 
puncher,  gradually  acquired  the  name  of  'The 
Dude.'  One  unlucky  and  simple-minded  range- 
rider,  who  had  never  been  east  of  the  great  plains 
in  his  life,  unwarily  boasted  that  he  had  an  aunt 
in  New  York,  and  ever  afterward  he  went  by  the 
name  of  l Metropolitan  Bill.'  A  huge,  red 
headed  Irishman  was  named  '  Sheeny  Solomon. ' 


ROUGH    RIDERS.  223 

A  young  Jew  who  developed  into  one  of  the  best 
fighters  in  the  regiment  accepted  with  entire 
equanimity  the  name  of  i Pork-chop.'  We  had 
quite  a  number  of  professional  gamblers  who,  I 
am  bound  to  say,  usually  made  good  soldiers. 
One  who  was  almost  abnormally  quiet  and  gentle 
was  called  l  Hell-roarer ';  while  another  who,  in 
point  of  language  and  deportment,  was  his  exact 
antithesis,  was  known  as  '  Prayerful  James. '  ' ' 

Their  arms  were  the  regular  army  carbine, 
the  Krag,  though  a  few  held  to  their  favorite 
Winchesters,  using  the  new  models  which  took 
the  Government  cartridge.  They  did  not  drill 
with  the  saber.  Mr.  Eoosevelt  and  Colonel  Wood 
both  knew  that  would  be  a  needless  waste  of  time, 
as  the  saber  is  a  useless  weapon  in  modern  war 
fare.  They  secured  horses,  and  practiced 
mounted  drill  with  great  diligence ;  but  it  turned 
out  that  they  served  as  foot-soldiers,  and  some 
days  were  lost  because  the  unprepared  war  de 
partment  was  unable  to  send  their  horses  to  Cuba. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  this 
war  with  Spain  was  the  promptness  with  which 
men  of  wealth  and  social  position  volunteered 
for  the  service,  and  the  fidelity  with  which  they 
did  their  duty.  Of  those  enlisted  in  the  Rough 


224  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

Riders,  Colonel  Roosevelt  has  said :  l '  Their  only 
thought  was  how  to  perfect  themselves  in  their 
duties.  They  were  never  so  tired  as  not  to 
respond  with  eagerness  to  the  slightest  sugges 
tion  of  doing  something  new,  whether  it  was 
dangerous,  or  merely  difficult  and  laborious. 
They  not  only  did  their  duty,  but  were  constantly 
on  the  watch  for  some  new  duty  that  they  could 
construe  to  be  theirs.  No  call  was  ever  made 
upon  them  to  which  they  did  not  respond  with 
eager  thankfulness  for  having  the  chance  to 
answer  it.  Later  on  I  worked  them  as  hard  as  I 
knew  how,  and  the  regiment  and  the  country  will 
always  be  their  debtor. ' ' 

The  ordnance  bureau  at  Washington,  cu 
riously  affected  with  the  "manana"  policy  of  the 
Mexican,  had  been  sending  by  freight  the  equip 
ments  most  needed  by  the  Rough  Riders ;  but  had 
finally  yielded  to  Colonel  Roosevelt's  urging, 
and  began  the  use  of  express  trains.  So  that  just 
as  the  last  rifles,  revolvers  and  saddles  came,  the 
Rough  Riders  were  ordered  to  proceed  by  train 
to  Tampa,  Florida.  Instantly  all  was  joyful 
excitement.  San  Antonio,  Texas,  had  been  their 
headquarters,  and  they  were  glad  to  make  their 
start  from  the  city  where  the  Alamo  preserves 


MR.    ROOSEVELT  AS  A   UNITED  STATES  VOLUNTEER 


ROUGH    RIDERS.  225 

the  memories  of  Crockett,  Bowie  and  their  heroic 
companions  in  arms.  The  journey  to  Tampa 
occupied  four  days.  There  were  more  than  a 
thousand  men,  and  the  full  complement  of  horses. 
Then  they  had  a  pack-train  of  150  animals ;  and 
the  train  which  moved  the  regiment  was  cut  into 
seven  sections,  Wood  commanding  the  first  three, 
and  Roosevelt  the  remaining  four.  They  left 
San  Antonio  May  29,  1898.  June  2  their  camp 
was  pitched  at  Tampa,  with  tents  standing  neatly 
in  long  streets,  and  supplied  with  every  adjunct 
that  good  management  could  provide.  They  were 
told  that  marching  orders  would  be  issued  imme 
diately,  and  that  they  were  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness.  But  they  were  also  told  that  four 
troops,  with  all  the  horses,  would  have  to  be  left 
behind.  That  was  the  bitterest  disappointment 
any  member  of  the  Rough  Riders  ever  knew.  ' '  I 
saw,"  says  Mr.  Roosevelt,  "more  than  one 
among  the  officers  and  privates  burst  into  tears 
when  he  found  he  could  not  go. "  But  some  had 
to  be  chosen  and  some  had  to  be  left.  One  of  the 
captains  chosen  was  Maximilian  Luna,  the  only 
man  of  pure  Spanish  blood  who  bore  a  commis 
sion  in  the  army.  His  people  had  been  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  before  the  Roosevelts 


226  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  or  Colonel 
Wood 's  ancestors  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock ;  and 
he  claimed  a  right  to  go  as  a  representative  of 
his  race  in  America.  He  demanded  the  privi 
lege  of  proving  that  his  people  were  as  loyal 
Americans  as  any  others,  and  they  took  him. 

The  command  was  ordered  to  be  at  a  certain 
track  on  the  night  of  June  6,  there  to  take  a  train 
for  Port  Tampa,  nine  miles  distant.  The  soldiers 
were  there,  but  the  train  was  not.  Colonel  Roose 
velt  hurried  to  the  tents  of  brigadier-generals, 
and  to  the  headquarters  of  major-generals ;  but 
no  one  knew  anything  at  all  of  arrangements. 
The  men  slept  heavily  through  the  night,  and 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  received 
orders  to  go  to  another  track,  half  a  mile  away. 
No  train  was  there,  either;  but  at  six  o'clock  a 
string  of  gravel-cars  came  along,  and  these  were 
seized  by  the  officers  of  the  Rough  Riders,  and 
backed  down  the  dusty,  sunny  nine  miles  to  the 
port. 

Lack  of  system  in  the  management  of  the  mil 
itary  was  still  evident,  for  when  the  First  Volun 
teers  reached  the  quay,  they  did  not  know  where 
to  go,  nor  which  transport  they  were  expected  to 
have,  though  their  orders  to  "  go  on  board ' '  were 


BOUGH    RIDERS.  227 

imperative.  Both  Colonel  Wood  and  Colonel 
Roosevelt  spent  a  bad  half-day  searching  for 
some  hint  as  to  direction,  and  at  noon  the  depot 
quartermaster  assigned  them  to  the  Yucatan,  a 
transport  lying  in  midstream.  Colonel  Wood 
hurried  aboard  and  took  possession,  for  he  had 
discovered  that  this  same  transport  had  been 
assigned  to  two  other  regiments  besides  his  own. 
It  was  a  race  to  see  who  should  first  be  ready  to 
march  aboard.  Colonel  Roosevelt  ran  full-speed 
back  to  the  command,  left  a  guard  with  the  bag 
gage,  and  double-quicked  the  rest  of  the  regiment 
to  the  pier  just  as  Colonel  Wood  brought  the  big 
transport  to  the  landing.  Then  the  men  spent 
a  hot  and  dusty  day  carrying  their  baggage  and 
the  camp  equipment  down  from  the  distant  end 
of  the  wharf,  where  they  had  been  compelled  to 
leave  the  train,  and  stowing  it  away  in  the  Yuca 
tan.  In  the  evening  the  transport  was  pulled  out 
and  anchored  in  midstream,  and  the  Rough 
Riders  felt  they  had  had  a  rather  interesting 
thirty-six  hours. 

Nothing  more  significant  than  Colonel  Roose 
velt  's  own  words  can  be  used  in  describing  this 
phase  of  their  service.  In  his  book  ' l  The  Rough 
Riders, "  he  says:  "The  transports  were  over- 


228  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

loaded,  the  men  being  packed  like  sardines,  not 
only  below,  but  above  decks.  At  night  it  was 
impossible  to  walk  about  without  stepping  over 
the  bodies  of  sleepers.  The  travel  rations  were 
insufficient,  because  the  meat  was  very  bad.  If 
we  had  been  given  canned  corned  beef  we  would 
have  been  all  right;  but  instead  of  this  the  sol 
diers  were  given  a  horrible  stuff  called  '  canned 
fresh  beef.'  There  was  no  salt  in  it.  At  the 
best  it  was  stringy  and  tasteless.  At  the  worst 
it  was  nauseating.  Not  one-fourth  of  it  was  ever 
eaten  at  all,  even  when  the  men  became  very  hun 
gry.  There  were  no  facilities  for  the  men  to 
cook  anything.  There  was  no  ice  for  them.  The 
water  was  not  good,  and  they  had  no  fresh  meat 
or  fresh  vegetables. ' ' 

But  all  their  hardships  were  borne  without 
grumbling.  They  had  wanted  to  come,  and  here 
they  were— on  the  first  transport  that  pushed 
from  the  pier  at  Port  Tampa.  They  accepted 
the  discomforts,  and  would  not,  for  any  conceiv 
able  consideration,  have  traded  with  their  com 
rades  left  behind  there  on  the  sand  flats  between 
Tampa  and  the  river.  Yet  they  were  not  advanc 
ing  toward  Cuba.  They  were  simply  lying  at  the 
edge  of  the  ocean,  taking  salt-water  baths  night 


BOUGH    EIDERS.  229, 

and  morning  for  nearly  a  week,  and  fighting 
their  first  big  battle  in  controlling  themselves. 
At  last,  on  the  evening  of  June  13,  they  received 
the  welcome  order  to  start,  and  ship  after  ship 
weighed  anchor  and  pushed  ahead  under  half 
steam,  the  bands  playing,  the  flags  flying,  and  the 
rigging  black  with  soldiers  cheering  and  shout 
ing.  The  jubilation  was  short-lived,  for  the  ships 
came  to  anchor  presently,  and  waited  till  morn 
ing.  Then  they  were  again  all  under  way ;  and 
by  mid-afternoon  the  whole  fleet  had  passed  out 
of  sight  of  land.  For  six  days  they  sailed 
steadily  southward  and  eastward,  the  thirty  odd 
transports  moving  in  parallel  lines,  while  ahead 
and  behind  and  on  their  flanks  the  gray  hulls  of 
the  war-ships  surged  through  the  blue  water. 
They  were  guarded  by  every  variety  of  craft— 
battle-ship,  cruiser,  converted  yacht,  and  torpe 
do-boat.  The  war-ships  watched  with  ceaseless 
vigilance  day  and  night.  When  a  sail  of  any 
kind  appeared,  instantly  one  of  the  guardians 
steamed  toward  it.  Once  a  strange  ship  sailed 
too  close,  and  the  nearest  torpedo-boat  sped 
across  the  water  toward  it.  But  the  stranger 
proved  harmless,  and  the  swift,  delicate,  death- 
fraught  craft  returned. 


230  THEODOBE    ROOSEVELT. 

That  voyage  through  "the  sapphire  seas" 
was  an  experience  which  impressed  every  one. 
Not  a  man  on  the  transport  knew  where  the  ship 
was  going.  It  might  be  Cuba.  It  might  be  Porto 
Rico.  They  knew  only  that  they  were  ordered 
forward  by  their  Government,  and  they  brought 
their  lives  in  their  hands  as  they  hurried  to  obey. 
They  were  young  and  strong,  eager  to  face  what 
lay  hidden  before  them.  Sometimes  they  talked 
of  what  they  might  do  in  the  future ;  sometimes 
they  lounged  in  groups  and  told  stories  of  their 
previous  lives  in  all  conceivable  environments, 
or  sang  through  the  evening  hours.  1 1  The  offi 
cers,  too,"  says  Colonel  Roosevelt,  in  one  of  his 
books,  "had  many  strange  experiences  to  relate. 
None  had  been  through  what  was  better  worth 
telling  or  could  tell  it  better  than  Capron.  He 
was  a  great  rifle-shot  and  wolf-hunter.  He  had 
handled  his  scouts,  and  dealt  with  the  ' broncho' 
Indians,  the  renegades  from  the  tribes.  He 
knew,  so  far  as  a  white  man  could  know,  their 
ways  of  thought,  and  how  to  humor  them.  His 
training  and  temper  had  fitted  him  to  do  great 
work  in  war ;  and  he  looked  forward  with  confi 
dence  to  what  the  future  held.  Death  was  the 
prize  he  drew. 


BOUGH    RIDERS.  231 

"Most  of  the  men  had  simple  souls.  They 
could  relate  facts,  but  they  said  very  little  about 
what  they  dimly  felt.  Buckey  0  'Neill,  however, 
the  iron-nerved,  iron- willed  fighter  from  Arizona, 
the  sheriff  whose  name  was  a  byword  of  terror 
to  every  wrong-doer,  white  or  red,  the  gambler 
who  with  unmoved  face  would  stake  and  lose 
every  dollar  he  had  in  the  world— he  alone 
among  his  comrades  was  a  visionary,  an  articu 
late  emotionalist.  He  was  very  quiet  about  it, 
never  talking  unless  sure  of  his  listener;  but 
at  night  when  we  leaned  on  the  railing  to  look 
at  the  Southern  Cross,  he  was  apt  to  speak  of 
the  mysteries  that  lie  behind  courage,  behind  ani 
mal  hatred  and  animal  lust  for  the  pleasures  that 
have  tangible  shape." 

They  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  the 
transports.  One  was  towing  a  schooner  and 
another  a  scow.  Both  kept  lagging  behind. 
Finally,  when  they  had  gone  nearly  the  length  of 
Cuba,  the  transport  with  the  schooner  fell  very 
far  behind,  and  then  the  Yucatan  was  ordered 
to  drop  out  of  the  line  and  keep  the  laggard  com 
pany.  Loaded  with  soldiers,  wholly  helpless  to 
defend  themselves  in  case  of  attack,  entirely  at 
the  mercy  of  every  round  shot  that  might  be 


232  THEODORE    KOOSEVELT. 

hurled  toward  them,  these  two  crowded  ships, 
guarded  by  a  single  gunboat,  the  Bancroft, 
plunged  ahead  through  the  night,  and  finally 
overtook  the  rest  of  the  fleet  just  as  the  latter 
turned  sharp  to  the  southwest— and  then  every 
one  knew  Santiago  de  Cuba  was  their  destination. 
They  came  close  to  the  coast  on  the  morning 
of  June  20,  passed  Guantanamo,  where  just  ten 
days  before  the  marines  had  gained  a  footing  at 
Crest  Heights,  and  had  given  loyal  American 
blood  that  the  islanders  might  be  free.  The  big 
ships,  guarding  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  had 
driven  all  Spanish  forces  from  the  shore  north 
of  Santiago,  and  the  transports  could  at  least  be 
secure  from  attack  while  unloading.  And  there 
disembarking  was  accomplished.  Close  under 
the  mighty  bluffs  that  seemed  to  rise  almost 
from  the  beach,  lay  the  squalid  little  town  of 
Daiquiri.  There  are  mines  of  iron  ore  all  around 
it,  and  a  railway  runs  to  Santiago.  The  place 
had  strategic  advantages.  But  the  landing  itself 
was  a  scramble— each  commander  taking  care  of 
himself  and  his  men.  There  was  still  a  woeful 
lack  of  system  and  of  effective  general  leader 
ship.  The  fleet  had  less  than  a  fourth  the  num 
ber  of  row-boats  that  were  required  for  handling 


COL.    ROOSEVELT   AS   A    ROUGH    RIDER 


ROUGH    RIDERS.  233 

the  men,  and  there  was  no  dock  which  deep- 
draught  vessels  could  approach.  The  war-ships 
lent  what  boats  they  could,  and  the  little  army 
began  its  slow  progress  across  the  two  miles  of 
water  that  divided  ships  from  shore,  until  Lieu 
tenant  Sharp,  of  the  navy,  commanding  the 
Vixen,  a  converted  yacht,  recognized  Colonel 
Eoosevelt  on  the  deck  of  the  Yucatan,  and  offered 
to  help  put  the  Kough  Eiders  ashore.  The  serv 
ice  was  gratefully  accepted.  On  the  Vixen  was  a 
Cuban  pilot  who  knew  every  mile  of  the  coast, 
and  he  proposed  to  take  the  Yucatan  within  five 
hundred  yards  of  the  beach.  He  was  offered  a 
reward  if  he  would  do  so;  and  he  did.  The 
other  transports  followed,  and  the  labor  was 
greatly  lightened. 

In  spite  of  the  difficulties,  the  landing  became 
quite  a  frolic  for  the  men.  The  surf  ran  high, 
and  the  boats  could  not  place  any  one  on  dry 
land.  Each  man  carried  three  days'  field  rations, 
with  gun  and  blanket,  and  a  hundred  rounds  of 
ammunition.  But  they  tumbled  from  the  boats 
when  no  nearer  approach  could  be  made,  and 
waded  or  swam  till  the  solid  earth  was  beneath 
their  feet.  The  horses  were  unloaded  from 
another  transport,  two  hundred  yards  from 


234  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

shore.  The  process  in  this  case  was  as  simple  as 
cruel.  The  animals  were  pushed  overboard,  and 
permitted  to  swim  to  land,  or  go  down  in  the  sea 
—whichever  happened.  Colonel  Roosevelt's  big 
horse,  which  his  groom  had  named  ' '  Rain-in- the 
Face,"  was  drowned;  but  the  pony,  " Texas," 
swam  ashore  without  the  slightest  trouble. 

A  few  of  the  rich  young  men  in  the  Eough 
Eiders'  regiment  had  added  some  light  artillery 
pieces  to  the  equipment  of  the  command,  making 
a  free  gift  to  the  Government.  There  were  two 
rapid-fire  Colt  automatic  guns,  and  a  dynamite 
gun.  The  task  of  bringing  these  ashore  without 
injury  was  a  difficult  one,  indeed.  But  it  was 
done,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  of  June  22  the 
little  army  had  been  established  on  Spanish  soil, 
and  was  ready  for  any  contingency  that  might 
arise— but  with  a  decided  preference  for  fight 
ing. 

If  any  resistance  at  all  had  been  made,  the 
landing  would  have  been  rendered  difficult  to  the 
point  of  impossibility.  There  had  been  five  hun 
dred  Spaniards  on  the  shore  in  the  morning,  and 
they  had  marched  up  and  down  the  beach  very 
threateningly.  But  they  had  run  at  the  first  fir 
ing  from  the  gunboats,  and  the  Americans  found 


BOUGH    BIDEBS.  235 

in  their  places,  as  evening  fell,  a  crowd  of  Cuban 
insurgents— hungry,  dirty,  and  armed  with  every 
kind  of  weapon  imaginable,  but  with  nothing  that 
would  mark  them  as  an  allied  force.  Their 
demands,  indeed,  were  less  modest  than  to  be  led 
against  their  ancient  enemies.  All  they  wanted 
was  food— and  plenty  of  it. 

Colonel  Roosevelt's  first  task  was  to  march 
his  men  about  half  a  mile  inland,  to  a  place 
selected  for  the  camping,  and  there  to  get  them 
into  the  best  possible  shape  for  the  morrow.  The 
place  was  a  bushy,  dust-covered  flat,  with  a  jun 
gle  on  one  side,  and  fetid  pools  on  the  other.  For 
the  first  time  the  men  saw  the  huge  land-crabs  of 
the  island,  and  marveled  as  the  strange  animals 
scuttled  through  the  underbrush ;  and  they  mar 
veled  even  more  when  they  heard  these  same 
creatures  utter  their  disturbing  cry  in  the  still 
hours  of  the  night. 

But  the  Rough  Riders— dismounted— were 
in  Cuba!  Just  fifty-two  days  had  passed  since 
the  declaration  of  war.  This  was  the  only  volun 
teer  force  that  reached  Santiago  in  time  to  be  of 
use  in  the  fighting,  with  the  single  exception  of 
the  Seventy-first  New  York  National  Guard.  The 
latter  regiment  had  been  organized  for  years, 


236  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

was  fully  armed,  equipped,  drilled  and  provided 
in  every  way.  The  Kough  Eiders  had  come  in 
less  than  two  months'  time  from  the  absolute 
beginning.  Before  April  30  not  one  step  had 
been  taken  for  their  formation.  Yet  in  this 
incredibly  short  time  they  were  ready  for  the 
storming  of  San  Juan  hill.  And  they  stormed  it. 
Never  before,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  a 
civilized  country,  has  such  dispatch  been  made  in 
the  preparation  of  a  fighting  force.  And  cer 
tainly  never  before  was  an  organization  so 
quickly  brought  to  such  a  degree  of  efficiency. 
The  result  was  due  solely  to  Colonel  Koosevelt's 
decision,  energy,  and  remarkable  capacity  for 
leadership.  The  deciding  element  of  the  land 
force  in  Cuba  was  his  personal  contribution  to 
the  cause  of  his  nation.  And  the  recognition  of 
this  fact  is  probably  the  highest  tribute  that  can 
be  paid  him. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SERVICE  IN  CUBA. 

BRIGADED  WITH  THE  FORCES  OF  A  FIGHTING  MAN  —  THE  AFFAIR 
AT  LAS  GUASIMAS,  AND  THE  LOSS  OF  PRECIOUS  LIVES— THE 
ROUGH  RIDERS  PROVE  THEIR  HEROISM  IN  BATTLE— FROM  THE 
TRENCHES  TO  THE  HOSPITAL— GRAVES  IN  ALIEN  SOIL— AFTER 
PEACE,  THE  RETURN  HOME. 

Months  before  the  war  broke  out,  Gen.  S.  M. 
B.  Young,  of  the  regular  army,  had  been  the 
guest  of  Mr.  Eoosevelt  and  Dr.  Leonard  Wood  at 
a  club  in  New  York,  and  they  had  told  him  that 
when  hostilities  began— an  event  which  they 
confidently  anticipated— they  were  going  to  "try 
and  get  in. "  ' '  Come  to  my  brigade, ' '  said  Gen 
eral  Young,  "and  I  guarantee  to  show  you  some 
fighting."  And  he  kept  his  word. 

At  Tampa,  in  those  distressing  days  when 
they  did  not  know  where  the  Government  wanted 
them  to  go,  the  Eough  Riders  were  brigaded  with 
the  First  and  Tenth  regular  cavalry,  under  Gen 
eral  Young.  The  latter  organization  was  com 
posed  of  colored  men.  It  was  called  the  Second 

237 


238  THEODOBE    EOOSEVELT. 

Brigade.  The  first  was  made  up  of  the  Third, 
Sixth  and  Ninth— the  latter  also  colored;  and 
this  was  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Sum- 
ner.  Major-General  Joseph  Wheeler  com 
manded  the  entire  force— absolutely  all  the 
cavalry  that  saw  service  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Santiago. 

The  appointment  of  General  Wheeler  was  of 
itself  an  interesting  detail  in  the  history  of  that 
war.  He  had  been  the  most  dashing  and  formid 
able  cavalry  commander  in  the  Confederate 
army  at  the  time  of  the  war  between  the  States, 
and  President  McKinley  had  wisely  believed  that 
the  selection  of  such  a  man  would  be  a  most 
advantageous  move  in  the  process  of  unifying 
the  nation.  Ever  since  the  Civil  War  the  spirit 
of  sectionalism  had  existed.  There  were  men, 
both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South,  who  refused 
to  accept  the  results  of  the  war,  and  whose  effort 
seemed  directed  to  preventing  that  singleness  of 
purpose  and  action  by  which  national  advance 
could  best  be  made.  So  far  as  lay  in  their  power 
they  were  inflicting  a  harm  upon  their  country 
by  that  inexcusable  treason  which  flourishes  in  a 
time  of  peace  and  prosperity.  With  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war  against  Spain  the  opportunity 


SEKVICE  IN  CUBA.  239 

arose  to  cement  the  sections.  The  South  had  suf 
fered  as  much  as  the  North  from  the  perils  of 
Cuba.  Its  sons  had  been  treacherously  slaugh 
tered  in  the  destruction  of  the  Maine.  The  war 
like  spirit  which  always  lived  in  that  section  was 
fired  with  the  desire  for  reprisal ;  and  the  unex 
pected  happened  when  the  whole  South,  from 
the  Ohio  to  the  Gulf,  rallied  to  the  defense  of  the 
national  flag.  No  other  act  of  recognition  could 
have  meant  so  much  as  this  appointment  of  Gen 
eral  Wheeler  to  the  command  of  the  cavalry 
forces.  Of  all  the  great  military  leaders  of  the 
Confederacy  still  living,  he  best  expressed  the 
sentiment  and  enjoyed  the  favor  of  his  section. 
Besides,  it  was,  in  a  military  sense,  a  particularly 
appropriate  nomination.  General  Wheeler  was 
a  soldier.  Though  past  the  age  of  sixty  years, 
he  was  full  of  vigor,  possessed  of  an  abundance 
of  nervous  force,  still  the  master  of  military 
detail,  and  a  natural  leader  of  men.  His  appoint 
ment  was  one  of  the  wisest  that  the  President 
could  have  made ;  and  with  him  in  command  it 
was  an  absolute  certainty  that  the  promise  of 
General  Young,  that  Mr.  Eoosevelt  and  his 
friend  should  see  fighting,  would  be  fulfilled. 
General  Young  was  a  fine  type  of  the  Amer- 


240  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

lean  fighting  soldier.  In  the  field  he  carried  the 
same  impedimenta  as  did  Colonel  Roosevelt— a 
mackintosh  and  a  toothbrush ! 

The  next  day  after  disembarking  was  largely 
employed  in  getting  baggage  and  camp  equipage 
ashore  from  the  ships,  a  labor  that  was  made 
additionally  difficult  because  the  War  Depart 
ment  had  not  found  the  right  men  for  the  control 
of  details  in  the  quartermaster's  department.  In 
the  afternoon  the  orders  came  for  the  soldiers 
to  advance.  General  Wheeler,  trained  to  practi 
cal  fighting,  first  found  where  the  enemy  was, 
and  then  directed  General  Young  to  take  his  bri 
gade  forward,  and  be  ready  to  strike  the  Span 
iards  in  the  morning. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  found  his  pony,  "  Texas, " 
much  the  worse  for  its  sea  voyage  and  the  forced 
swim  ashore,  but  yet  able  to  bear  its  master. 
The  mid-afternoon  sun  was  burning  hot  when 
the  march  began.  Colonel  Eoosevelt  led  one 
squadron,  and  Major  Brodie  followed  with  the 
other.  The  jungle  trail  over  the  hills  was  so 
narrow  and  steep  that  in  places  the  soldiers  had 
to  proceed  in  single  file.  The  advance  could 
never  have  been  made  had  the  Spaniards  pos 
sessed  the  courage  or  the  capacity  for  any  kind 


MAJOR-GENERAL    JOSEPH    WHEELER 


SERVICE  IN  CUBA.  241 

of  fighting.  But  it  seemed  that  four  hundred 
years  of  cruelty  had  reduced  them  from  their 
high  estate,  and  they  knew  nothing  of  the  art  of 
war,  and  nothing  of  the  science  of  defense.  A 
curious  feature  of  this  first  advance  was  the 
haste  which  inspired  even  the  enlisted  men. 
General  Young  wanted  them  to  hurry,  so  they 
would  be  in  position  for  actual  service  in  the 
morning ;  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that  he  would 
issue  orders  to  that  effect.  But  the  men  went 
farther  than  he  could  have  hoped,  and  traversed 
a  tangle  of  tropical  woods  and  vines  which  he 
could  well  have  believed  impassable.  They  did 
not  halt  until  they  were  at  the  extreme  front  of 
the  American  line. 

They  were  not  in  good  shape  for  marching, 
because  of  the  voyage,  the  lack  of  food  and  water, 
and  the  difficulties  in  the  way.  Besides,  they 
were  horsemen,  in  large  majority.  The  cowboys 
in  particular,  excellent  fighting  material,  had 
never  walked  a  furlong  if  it  could  be  avoided; 
and  the  hard  tramp  over  the  hills  and  through 
vine-entangled  morasses  was  particularly  trying 
to  them.  But  there  was  no  straggling.  Very 
soon  after  dark  they  reached  the  little  hamlet  of 
Siboney.  The  men  built  fires  and  fried  their 


242  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

pork  and  boiled  their  coffee,  and  made  such  sup 
per  as  they  could,  the  officers  faring  precisely  as 
did  the  men.  And  the  supper  was  hardly  fin 
ished  when  the  Americans  had  their  first  expe 
rience  with  a  rain-storm  in  Cuba. 

At  midnight  Colonel  Wood  returned  from  a 
visit  to  General  Young,  and  brought  that  officer's 
plans  for  the  advance  in  the  morning.  General 
Wheeler,  who  commanded,  since  General  Shaf  ter 
had  not  yet  come  ashore  from  the  ships,  had 
directed  that  the  Spanish  lines  be  struck  as  soon 
after  daybreak  as  possible. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  General  Young 
started  with  a  squadron  from  the  First  Eegular 
cavalry,  and  a  squadron  from  the  Tenth  Regu 
lars.  Colonel  Wood  and  Colonel  Roosevelt  took 
a  slightly  different  direction  to  reach  the  same 
objective,  with  the  Rough  Riders,  and  the  two 
companies  from  the  cavalry  regiment  of  colored 
men.  At  half  past  seven  the  Spaniards  were  dis 
covered,  holding  a  rocky  ridge  that  jutted  for 
ward,  its  angle  lying  between  the  two  advancing 
forces  of  the  Americans.  There  were  stone 
breastworks  on  the  hill,  and  blockhouses  behind 
it.  General  Young  ordered  his  men  to  fill  their 
canteens,  and  then  at  eight  o'clock  opened  the 


SERVICE  IN  CUBA.  243 

fight  with  his  Hotchkiss  guns,  at  nine  hundred 
yards'  range. 

The  Spaniards  replied,  and  for  the  first  time 
in  more  than  fifty  years  American  soldiers  were 
engaged  in  war  with  an  alien  nation.  In  the  very 
first  half -minute  Colonel  Roosevelt's  old-time 
wisdom  in  urging  the  adoption  of  smokeless  pow 
der  was  made  manifest.  The  Spaniards,  ages 
behind  the  times  in  everything  else,  had  smoke 
less  powder,  and  it  added  greatly  to  the  difficul 
ties  the  Americans  had  to  encounter.  General 
Young,  long  used  to  Indian  warfare,  and  recog 
nizing  this  as  in  essentials  the  same,  pushed  his 
men  forward  for  a  closer  touch  with  the  enemy. 
A  passage  from  Colonel  Roosevelt's  own  story 
of  this  first  battle  will  be  peculiarly  acceptable 
here. 

' '  The  men  were  deployed  on  both  sides  of  the 
road,"  he  says,  "in  such  thick  jungle  that  only 
here  and  there  could  they  see  ahead.  Through 
this  jungle  ran  wire  fences,  and  when  the  troops 
got  to  the  ridge  they  encountered  precipitous 
bluffs.  They  were  led  most  gallantly,  as  Ameri 
can  regular  officers  always  lead  their  men;  and 
the  soldiers  followed  their  leaders  with  the  splen 
did  courage  always  shown  by  the  American  reg- 


244  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

ular  soldier.  There  was  not  a  single  straggler 
among  them,  and  in  not  one  instance  was  an 
attempt  made  by  any  trooper  to  fall  out  in  order 
to  assist  the  wounded,  or  carry  back  the  dead; 
and  so  cool  were  they  and  so  perfect  their  fine 
discipline,  that  in  the  entire  engagement  the 
expenditure  of  ammunition  was  not  over  ten 
rounds  per  man.  Major  Bell,  who  commanded 
the  squadron,  had  his  leg  broken  by  a  shot  as  he 
was  leading  his  men.  Captain  Wainwright  suc 
ceeded  to  the  command  of  the  squadron.  Captain 
Knox  was  shot  in  the  abdomen.  He  continued 
for  some  time  giving  orders  to  his  troops,  and 
refused  to  allow  a  man  from  the  firing-line  to 
assist  him  to  the  rear.  Lieutenant  Byron  was 
himself  shot,  but  continued  to  lead  his  men  until 
the  wound  and  the  heat  overcame  him,  and  he 
fell  in  a  faint.  .  .  .  The  Spaniards  kept  up 
a  very  heavy  firing,  but  the  regulars  would  not 
be  denied,  and  as  they  climbed  the  ridges  the 
Spaniards  broke  and  fled." 

But  the  regulars  did  not  win  the  fight  alone. 
The  Rough  Eiders,  starting  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  pushed  through  the  jungle  to  the  left, 
and  on  up  the  hills.  Tiffany,  one  of  the  donors 
of  the  Colt  rapid-firers  and  the  dynamite  gun, 


SEKVICE  IN  CUBA.  245 

had— to  put  the  matter  plainly— stolen  from  the 
quartermaster's  department  a  pair  of  mules,  and 
was  using  them  to  transport  his  "  automatics. ' ' 
Sergeant  Borrowe,  in  charge  of  the  dynamite 
gun,  had  found  a  like  stroke  of  enterprise  impos 
sible,  and  could  not  bring  up  his  piece.  General 
Wheeler  has  himself  seen  fit  to  declare,  in  his 
valuable  book,  "The  Santiago  Campaign,"  that 
Sergeant  Borrowe  did  all  that  lay  in  his  power, 
and  is  wholly  excusable  for  not  bringing  the 
dynamite  gun  into  action. 

Captain  Capron's  troop  was  in  the  lead  in 
that  advance  of  Wood 's  squadron  up  the  heights. 
It  had  been  chosen  for  the  most  dangerous  and 
responsible  place  because  of  Capron's  admitted 
capacity.  The  order  of  advance  sent  Sergeant 
Hamilton  Fish  first,  with  four  men  as  skirmish 
ers;  then  Capron  and  the  rest  of  his  troop— all 
dismounted,  of  course.  Colonel  Wood  followed 
with  two  troops,  and  Colonel  Roosevelt  with 
three.  The  Cuban  guide  at  the  head  of  the  col 
umn  ran  away  as  soon  as  the  fighting  commenced. 
There  was  a  halt,  and  in  the  wait,  while  the  men 
were  obeying  the  order  to  fill  their  magazines 
with  cartridges,  Colonel  Roosevelt  overheard 
two  of  the  Eough  Eiders  nearest  him  discussing 


246  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

the  conduct  of  a  former  cow-puncher  who  had 
quit  a  Texas  ranch  and  embarked  in  the  saloon 
business.  So  little  did  a  "gun  fight"  unnerve 
these  heroic  men  from  the  Southwest. 

The  three  troops  were  ordered  to  deploy  to 
the  right  of  the  trail,  and  to  " go  in"  as  soon  as 
the  regulars  began  firing.  The  wait  was  brief. 
A  crash  in  the  jungle  told  of  exploding  shells, 
and  the  whole  ridge  flamed  with  fire  from  Span 
ish  guns.  The  air  was  full  of  the  rustling  sound 
of  Mauser  bullets  fired  by  the  enemy,  but  smoke 
less  powder  left  his  position  unrevealed.  ' '  Grad 
ually  they  got  our  range, "  says  Colonel  Eoose- 
velt,  "and  occasionally  one  of  our  men  would 
crumple  up.  In  no  case  did  the  man  make  any 
outcry  when  hit,  seeming  to  take  it  as  a  matter 
of  course;  at  the  outside  making  only  such 
remark  as,  'Well,  I  got  it  that  time.'  " 

In  war  all  things  are  new.  A  trooper  of  the 
Tenth,  sitting  by  a  stump  and  firing  steadily, 
was  told  by  a  passing  comrade : 

"You've  got  a  big  wound  in  your  hip." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right.  It's  been  there  for 
some  time,"  he  replied,  unconcernedly. 

No  one  was  allowed  to  drop  out  of  the  line 
to  care  for  the  wounded  or  remove  the  dead ;  but 


SEKVICE  IN  CUBA.  247 

the  wounded,  if  able  to  travel,  were  ordered  to  the 
rear.  Kowland,  a  New  Mexican,  came  back  from 
a  dangerous  errand  on  which  his  commander  had 
sent  him,  and  presently  Colonel  Roosevelt  noticed 
the  man  was  wounded. 

" Where  are  you  hurt,  Rowland?"  he  asked. 

"  Aw— they  caved  in  a  couple  of  ribs  for  me, 
I  guess. ' ' 

Colonel  Roosevelt  ordered  him  to  go  to  the 
rear,  and  make  himself  as  comfortable  as  he 
could  in  the  hospital.  Rowland,  for  the  first  time 
in  his  service,  grumbled,  and  was  inclined  to 
argue  the  case.  He  did  not  want  to  leave.  But 
when  the  order  was  repeated  he  disappeared,  and 
was  not  seen  for  half  an  hour.  But  in  the  course 
of  the  advance,  Colonel  Roosevelt  saw  him  again, 
and  exclaimed : 

"I  thought  you  were  told  to  go  to  the  hospi 
tal." 

"Aw— I  couldn't  find  the  hospital,"  replied 
the  man,  a  statement  which  his  colonel  doubted. 
And  he  remained  on  the  firing-line  to  the  end  of 
the  conflict.  His  conduct  was  typical  of  the 
heroism  and  fortitude  of  the  whole  American 
army. 

The  fighting  continued  for  two  hours.     The 


248  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

difficulty  of  finding  the  enemy  was  most  exasper 
ating.  Smokeless  powder  permitted  the  Span 
iards  to  fire  without  disclosing  their  location, 
and  the  black  smoke  of  the  Americans  always 
revealed  their  position.  But  with  all  that  dis 
advantage  the  glasses  of  the  American  officers 
finally  found  the  enemy,  and  the  superior  marks 
manship  of  the  soldiers  drove  the  red-and-yellow 
flag  and  its  followers  in  a  run  from  their  breast 
works.  That  portion  of  their  force  opposed  to  the 
right  of  the  Eough  Eiders,  the  left  of  the  regular 
army  men,  withdrew  completely.  Then  Colo 
nel  Eoosevelt  hurried  to  the  left,  where  the  resist 
ance,  though  moderated,  still  continued.  He  was 
not  just  sure  what  plan  General  Young  had  for 
the  present,  and  received  no  orders.  "But,"  he 
says, ' i  I  knew  I  could  not  be  far  wrong  if  I  went 
forward. ' ' 

Nothing  more  truly  typical  of  the  man's  life 
has  ever  been  said,  and  no  man  has  disclosed  a 
characteristic  more  modestly,  or  with  a  more  evi 
dent  unconsciousness  of  its  simple  strength. 

Here  at  the  left  the  day  had  been  costly. 
Captain  Capron  and  Sergeant  Hamilton  Fish, 
one  the  fourth  in  a  line  of  soldiers,  the  other  the 
grandson  of  that  Secretary  of  State  who  helped 


SERVICE  IN  CUBA.  249 

make  Grant's  cabinet  strong,  were  killed.  Lieu 
tenant  Thomas,  grandson  of  General  Thomas, 
"the  hero  of  Chickamauga, ' '  a  boy  of  twenty- 
one,  was  badly  wounded.  Day,  a  nephew  of  that 
William  Barker  Gushing  who  sank  the  Confed 
erate  ram  Albemarle,  in  1864,  was  fighting  hard 
at  the  head  of  his  men— troop  L,  from  the  Indian 
Territory;  and  when  the  Spanish  fire  was  try 
ing  the  heroism  of  Indians,  half-breeds  and  cow 
boys  so  severely,  Captain  McClintock,  hurrying 
to  his  support,  was  shot  through  the  thigh.  There 
were  some  red-tiled  buildings  about  five  hundred 
yards  to  the  front,  and  from  them  much  of  the 
firing  seemed  to  come.  Colonel  Eoosevelt 
ordered  a  charge,  and  leaping  forward,  he  ran 
at  the  head  of  his  men  toward  the  buildings. 
When  they  arrived  they  found  heaps  of  warm 
and  smoking  cartridge-shells,  and  two  dead 
Spanish  soldiers.  A  position  of  importance  had 
been  carried.  Shortly  afterward  Colonel  Wood 
reported  that  the  fight  was  over  for  the  time,  and 
that  the  whole  line  of  the  enemy  had  retreated. 
The  Rough  Riders  had  lost  eight  men  killed  and 
thirty-four  wounded.  One  man,  Isbell,  a  half- 
breed,  was  hit  seven  times.  Not  a  man  was  in 
that  equivocal  list,  "the  missing." 


250 


THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 


That  ended  the  struggle  of  June  24.  It  was 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  that  a  Spanish 
officer  said,  in  the  hearing  of  the  British  consul 
at  Santiago:  "The  Americans  do  not  fight  like 
other  men.  When  we  fire,  they  run  right  toward 
us.  We  are  not  used  to  fighting  men  who  act  so. ' ' 

Then  followed  nearly  a  week  of  inaction- 
trial  most  severe  for  fighting  men  at  the  front. 
But  on  June  30  the  order  came  to  hold  themselves 
in  readiness,  and  the  exasperating  wait  was 
ended.  Next  noon  the  Eough  Eiders  struck  camp, 
and,  together  with  the  entire  army  of  invasion, 
marched  forward.  At  night  they  slept  on  the 
summit  of  El  Poso  hill,  where  were  some  ruined 
buildings,  and  where  the  soldiers  found  a  quan 
tity  of  food,  which  was  very  welcome.  The  camp 
for  the  night  being  established,  the  men  found  a 
repeated  proof  of  their  colonel's  quality.  He 
might  have  taken  one  of  the  buildings  for  his 
headquarters,  for  he  was  at  the  time  the  superior 
officer  in  command ;  but  he  slept  in  the  open, 
among  his  men,  his  saddle  as  a  pillow,  his  mack 
intosh  being  his  only  shelter. 

The  men  were  up  with  the  dawn,  and  ready 
for  the  battle  which  was  very  certain  to  come. 
At  six  o'clock  the  cannon  began  booming  away 


SEKVICE  IN  CUBA.  251 

to  the  right,  and  the  puzzling,  exasperating  fight 
for  the  outposts  of  Santiago  was  on.  As  the 
troops  prepared  to  move,  Colonel  Roosevelt 
received  his  one  wound  of  the  war.  A  Spanish 
shell  exploded  above  his  head,  and  a  fragment 
struck  his  wrist.  It  scarcely  broke  the  skin,  and 
caused  only  the  slightest  pain.  And  although  he 
was  more  exposed  through  the  fighting  than  per 
haps  any  other  man  in  the  army,  he  escaped 
entirely  thereafter.  The  Eough  Riders  were 
ordered  to  cross  the  ford  of  the  San  Juan  river, 
and  halt  for  directions.  There  was  a  sunken  lane 
just  ahead,  with  strong  barbed  wire  fences  at 
each  side,  and  a  practically  open  field  to  the 
right  and  the  left  of  it. 

By  ten  o'clock  the  fighting  was  on  in  good 
earnest,  though  mostly  to  the  right.  Mauser  bul 
lets  drove  in  sheets  above  the  heads  of  the  wait 
ing  Americans,  or  hit  them  with  invariable 
effect  as  they  lay  behind  such  cover  as  they 
could  secure.  They  wanted  to  go  forward,  but 
the  expected  orders  did  not  come  till  nearly 
eleven  o'clock.  Then  Lieutenant  Miley,  General 
Shafter's  representative  at  the  front,  gave  a 
reluctant  consent  for  the  advance.  Instantly 
Colonel  Roosevelt  mounted  his  pony,  "  Texas, " 


252  THEODORE    HOOSEVELT. 

and,  taking  his  position  at  the  rear  of  his  regi 
ment,  where  a  colonel— in  theory— should  remain, 
he  began  pushing  the  men  forward.  They  went 
in  platoons,  and  as  he  saw  those  farthest  in 
advance  were  continually  getting  mixed  up  with 
the  regulars  to  the  left,  he  went  forward  a  platoon 
at  a  time  till  he  found  himself  at  the  very  head 
of  the  Rough  Eiders  and  close  in  the  rear  of  the 
Ninth— a  colored  regiment— which  had  become 
"lapped  over." 

At  the  crown  of  the  first  hill  the  Americans 
found  themselves  but  five  hundred  yards  from 
the  Spanish  position,  and  the  futility  of  trying 
to  rout  the  enemy  by  rifle  firing  became  evident 
to  Colonel  Eoosevelt.  He  told  the  officers  in 
command  of  the  regulars  that  his  orders  were  to 
support  them  in  their  attack  on  the  hills,  but  those 
commanders  replied  that  they  had  been  ordered 
to  do  no  more  than  wait  for  further  orders.  It 
was  a  perilous  place.  Men  were  being  hit  by  the 
Spaniards  continually,  and  even  the  sharpshoot 
ers  of  the  enemy  were  secure  from  punishment, 
because  of  the  smokeless  powder  they  used.  Then 
came  a  military  illustration  of  the  qualities  which 
Mr.  Roosevelt  had  shown  in  civil  life  unnum 
bered  times. 


SEBVICE  IN  CUBA.  253 

"I  am  ordered  to  support  you  in  your 
attack, ' '  he  said. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  regular  army  officer. 

"And  you  are  waiting  for  orders  to  ad 
vance  ? ' ' 

"Just  so." 

1 '  Then, ' '  looking  about  for  a  ranking  officer, 
and  finding  none, ' 1 1  am  the  ranking  officer  here, 
and  I  give  you  the  order  to  attack. ' ' 

It  rather  took  the  captain  by  surprise,  and  he 
hesitated. 

"Then  let  my  men  through,  sir,"  added  the 
colonel  of  Bough  Eiders ;  and  the  First  Volun 
teers  forgot  all  about  the  popping  of  Spanish 
bullets,  in  their  admiration  for  their  commander, 
and  their  zest  for  the  battle  which  his  masterful 
habit  insured  them. 

But  when  they  started  through,  the  example 
proved  too  much  for  the  regulars,  and  they  all 
rose  with  a  whoop,  officers  and  men,  and  went 
forward  together.  Colonel  Eoosevelt,  being 
mounted,  could  move  more  rapidly  than  the  hur 
rying,  shooting  men  on  foot,  and  he  employed 
his  advantage  by  assisting  the  other  officers  in 
getting  their  men  in  motion,  and  directing  the 
different  bodies  to  those  points  where  the  attack 


254  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

could  most  effectively  be  made.  But  as  he 
jumped  Ms  little  horse  the  third  time  across  the 
barbed  wire  at  the  side  of  the  lane,  he  dis 
mounted,  turned  the  animal  loose,  and  ran  on  at 
the  head  of  his  men,  up  the  hill,  swinging  his  hat, 
and  encouraging  them.  The  hillside  was  cov 
ered  with  soldiers,  Eough  Eiders  and  men  of  the 
First  and  the  Ninth  all  mingled  and  swarmed 
upward  together. 

They  passed  one  after  another  of  the  en 
trenchments  the  enemy  had  occupied— and  which 
would  have  been  held  had  they  possessed  half 
the  fighting  quality  of  the  men  who  attacked. 
In  one  of  these  trenches  Colonel  Koosevelt 
ordered  his  men  to  lie  down  and  wait  for  a  better 
formation.  When  he  was  ready  to  start  again 
of  course  there  was  an  indescribable  confusion. 
The  firing  on  both  sides  was  incessant  and  effect 
ive.  The  Gatling  guns  over  at  the  right  were 
beating  their  ominous  tattoo  on  the  position  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  when  Colonel  Eoosevelt  shouted 
his  order  for  the  Eough  Eiders  to  rise  and  ad 
vance  again,  they  did  not  hear  him.  He  jumped 
out  of  the  trench  and  ran,  and  four  men  who 
were  nearest  went  with  him.  When  he  had  run  a 
hundred  yards,  and  noticed  that  his  command 


SERVICE  IN  CUBA.  255 

was  not  with  him,  he  told  the  four  to  lie  down  in 
the  grass  and  bushes  till  he  could  go  back  and 
start  the  rest  of  the  line.  He  had  a  thought  that 
if  he  came  running  back  with  even  three  or  four 
the  line  might  get  the  idea  of  a  repulse,  and  that 
the  effect  would  be  bad.  And  the  four  made  no 
objection.  They  lay  prone  on  the  ground,  and 
continued  firing  at  the  occasional  heads  they 
could  see  popping  up  over  the  breastworks  in 
front  of  them. 

Colonel  Eoosevelt,  a  little  nettled  that  his 
command  had  not  acted  promptly,  ran  back  and 
yelled  at  them:  "Why  didn't  you  charge 
when  I  told  you  to?"  They  were  greatly  sur 
prised.  "Why,  we  didn't  hear  you,  Colonel," 
they  exclaimed.  ' '  Try  it  again. ' '  And  when  he 
tried  it  again,  he  was  followed  by  the  entire  regi 
ment,  and  by  many  a  man  from  the  regulars  who 
took  his  cue  from  any  force  that  was  ready  for 
the  initiative. 

As  they  approached  the  crest  of  the  hills,  the 
Spaniards,  amazed  at  the  temerity  of  infantry 
which  would  charge  up  a  hill  with  no  heavy  artil 
lery  to  shell  the  works,  abandoned  their  excellent 
trenches,  and  fled  down  the  slopes.  And  when 
the  Rough  Riders  and  their  friends  gained  the 


256  THEODORE    EOOSEVELT. 

summit,  they  broke  into  new  cheers,  for  there 
below  them,  within  easy  sight,  were  the  white 
walls  and  red-tiled  roofs  of  Santiago  de  Cuba. 
That  was  the  fight  of  the  first  of  July. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  battle  was  the 
conduct  of  Major-General  Joseph  Wheeler.  He 
had  been  so  ill  the  day  before  that  he  had  trans 
ferred  the  command  of  the  cavalry  to  General 
Sumner.  But  when  the  fighting  began  he  had 
four  stout  men  carry  him  to  the  field  in  a  litter, 
and  there  resumed  the  direction  of  the  forces. 
And  he  remained  at  the  front  till  the  day  was 
won. 

In  the  late  afternoon,  when  absolute  quiet  had 
reigned  for  an  hour,  an  attempt  at  advance  was 
made  by  the  Spaniards.  From  their  trenches 
half  way  down  the  slopes  they  marched  out  as  if 
to  attack  the  positions  held  by  the  Americans; 
and  the  latter  greeted  the  demonstration  with  a 
soldier's  joy.  They  had  been  at  a  disadvantage 
all  morning  and  had  carried  breastworks, 
against  rifles,  and  in  spite  of  artillery  support. 
Now  they  thought  they  were  to  meet  the  enemy 
on  equal  terms,  and  they  started  to  the  conflict 
as  to  a  festival.  But  the  movement  of  the  enemy 
was  short-lived.  If  they  ever  had  entertained 


SERVICE  IN  CUBA.  257 

the  purpose  of  attack,  they  reconsidered  it,  for 
they  did  not  get  two  hundred  yards  from  their 
trenches  until  the  fire  of  the  Americans  met 
them,  and  they  turned  and  incontinently  fled 
back  to  their  cover.  Curiously  enough,  as  a 
result  of  this  action,  General  Shafter  is  said  to 
have  decided  upon  a  withdrawal  of  the  American 
troops  to  a  position  less  exposed.  Against  his 
judgment  was  opposed  that  of  General  Wheeler, 
who  regarded  the  retrograde  movement  as  in 
every  way  ill-advised.  He  urged  that  the  army 
be  held  in  its  advanced  position,  and  all  the  offi 
cers  in  command,  and  certainly  all  the  men  in 
arms,  seconded  his  contention.  And  the  retreat 
was  not  ordered. 

In  a  paragraph  from  Colonel  Koosevelt's  own 
book  is  found  a  tribute  to  General  Wheeler's 
judgment  at  this  juncture:  "Soon  after  dark 
General  Wheeler  came  to  the  front.  A  very  few 
words  with  him  reassured  us  about  retiring.  He 
told  us  not  to  be  under  any  apprehension,  as  he 
had  sent  word  to  General  Shafter  there  was  no 
need  of  it  whatever ;  and  he  was  sure  we  would 
stay  where  we  were  until  the  chance  came  for 
advance.  He  was  second  in  command,  and  to 
him  more  than  to  any  other  man  was  due  the 


258  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

abandonment  of  the  proposal  to  fall  back— a  pro 
posal  which,  if  adopted,  would  have  meant  shame 
and  disaster. ' ' 

There  was  desultory  fighting  thereafter  for 
two  days,  and  then  a  demand  for  the  city's  sur 
render,  and  a  one-sided  truce,  by  virtue  of  which 
the  Americans  were  not  allowed  to  attack,  though 
the  Spaniards  might  if  they  saw  fit,  and  were  pre 
pared  to  take  punishment  for  it.  They  did  not 
take  advantage  of  their  privilege  to  any  great 
extent,  and  so  there  was  comparative  quiet  until 
noon  of  July  10,  when  the  firing  was  resumed  all 
along  the  entire  Spanish  line.  It  continued  for  an 
hour,  and  the  Americans  leaped  to  return  it.  No 
harm  was  done  to  the  Rough  Eiders  or  their  com 
panions  in  arms,  but  a  good  deal  of  damage  was 
inflicted  on  the  enemy.  The  situation  was  prac 
tically  a  siege,  and  until  the  truce  was  really 
established,  every  moment  was  one  of  watchful 
guarding,  and  of  danger.  But  after  that  first 
day's  fight  Colonel  Roosevelt  and  his  men  thor 
oughly  understood  each  other.  They  knew  he 
would  share  every  hardship  and  danger  with 
them,  and  that  he  would  do  everything  in  his 
power  for  their  maintenance  and  for  their  shelter 
and  their  rest.  And  he  knew  they  would  go 


SEKVICE  IN  CUBA.  259 

through  every  peril,  that  they  would  suffer  un 
complainingly,  and  that  they  would  obey  his 
every  order,  even  to  the  death. 

They  had  suffered  for  food.  Stacks  of  com 
missary  stores  were  waiting  for  them  on  the 
beach  at  Daiquiri,  for  the  Government  had  made 
small  provision  for  bringing  it  to  the  front.  So 
Colonel  Roosevelt  rigged  up  a  pack-train  after 
the  first  day's  fighting,  when  the  conditions  war 
ranted  taking  a  few  men  from  the  lines.  And 
after  that  the  Eough  Eiders  lived  better;  and 
their  spirits  as  well  as  their  health  improved. 

July  17  the  city  of  Santiago  surrendered. 
The  new  Armada  had  been  destroyed  by  Com 
modore  Schley.  The  power  of  Spain  in  the 
Western  world  was  broken.  The  work  of  the 
Eough  Eiders,  and  of  their  active  commander, 
was  ended. 

General  Wheeler,  second  in  command  on  the 
island,  says  in  his  book,  "The  Santiago  Cam 
paign":  "The  first  squadron  (in  the  battle  of 
Las  Guasimas)  was  under  the  command  of  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Eoosevelt,  who  deserves  great 
credit  for  the  intelligence  and  courage  with  which 
he  handled  his  men. "  Again,  after  the  battle  of 
July  3,  General  Wheeler  forwarded  to  head- 


260  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

quarters  the  reports  of  his  subalterns,  and  makes 
upon  one  this  endorsement :  ' '  Colonel  Eoosevelt 
and  his  entire  command  deserve  high  commenda 
tion."  The  general,  being  by  nature  and  train 
ing  a  soldier,  takes  occasion  in  the  book  men 
tioned  to  view  the  " might  have  been."  After 
the  Americans  had  captured  the  city,  he  tried 
to  estimate  the  damage  that  would  have  been 
inflicted  upon  his  soldiers  if  a  more  stubborn 
defense  had  been  made  by  the  Spaniards.  "As 
we  rode  for  the  first  time  into  Santiago,"  he 
says,  "we  were  struck  by  the  excellent  manner 
in  which  the  Spanish  lines  were  fortified,  and 
more  especially  by  the  formidable  defenses  with 
which  they  had  barricaded  the  roads.  The  one 
in  question,  on  which  we  were  traveling,  was 
barricaded  in  no  less  than  four  places,  said  de 
fenses  consisting  of  an  enormous  mass  of  barbed 
iron  wire,  stretched  across  the  entire  width  of  the 
road.  They  were  not  merely  single  lines  of  wire, 
but  pieces  running  perpendicularly,  diagonally, 
horizontally,  and  in  every  other  direction,  resem 
bling  nothing  so  much  as  a  huge  thick  spider- 
web,  with  an  enormous  mass  in  the  center. 
Behind  this  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet  were  barrels 
of  an  extraordinary  size,  filled  with  sand,  stones 


SERVICE  IN  CUBA.  261 

and  concrete,  on  the  tops  of  which  sand-bags 
were  placed  in  such  fashion  as  to  leave  small 
holes  through  which  the  Spaniards  could  sight 
their  guns.  It  would,  indeed,  have  been  a  hard 
task  for  American  troops,  were  they  never  so 
brave  and  courageous,  to  have  taken  by  storm  a 
city  which  was  protected  by  such  defenses  as 
these.  Nothing  short  of  artillery  could  have 
swept  such  obstructions  out  of  the  way,  and  even 
then  they  would  have  been  more  or  less  effective 
because  of  the  narrowness  of  the  road  and  the 
high  banks  on  each  side,  which  would  have  pre 
vented  getting  the  obstructions  out  of  the  way. 
Even  the  streets  were  intrenched  in  similar  fash 
ion,  the  people  taking  refuge  in  the  upper  stories 
of  their  houses.  Had  it  come  to  a  hand-to-hand 
fight,  as  at  one  time  was  feared,  the  American 
troops  would  have  suffered  a  fearful  loss,  being 
necessarily  placed  at  such  a  disadvantage.  It  was 
fortunate,  therefore,  that  the  surrender  came 
when  it  did;  for  otherwise  many  a  brave  boy 
who  has  returned  to  resume  his  avocations  of 
peace,  or  to  do  his  duty  as  a  soldier  in  his  native 
land,  would  have  found  his  last  resting-place  on 
Cuban  soil. ' ' 

Instead  of  that  a  series  of  glorious  battles  had 


262  THEODORE  EOOSEVELT. 

been  won,  an  honorable  peace  had  been  achieved, 
and  to  Colonel  Roosevelt  and  the  Eough  Riders 
was  left  that  home-coming  for  which  all  the 
nation  had  prayed.  Let  no  man  attempt  to  de 
tract  from  the  credit  due  to  the  soldiers  of  the 
regular  army,  or  their  officers.  Yet  it  is  a  matter 
of  record  that  the  Rough  Riders  were  equally 
engaged  in  every  fight  of  great  or  less  magni 
tude;  and  the  official  reports  show  that  the 
casualties  in  Colonel  Roosevelt's  regiment  were 
both  more  numerous  and  more  severe  than  those 
of  any  of  the  regulars.  That  regiment  lost  more 
officers  than  any  other.  It  lost  more  men  killed, 
and  had  more  wounded,  and  fewer  missing.  It 
very  nobly  sustained  the  honor  of  the  American 
volunteer  soldier. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RETURN   OF   THE  REGIMENT. 

THE  ROUND  ROBIN  —  ORDERED  BACK  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  — 
SICK,  WOUNDED  AND  WELL  ON  THE  VOYAGE  HOME— LANDING 
OF  ROUGH  RIDERS  AT  MONTAUK  POINT  —  ANGELS  OF  MERCY 
IN  THE  HOSPITALS— MUSTERED  OUT— BACK  TO  THE  OLD  LIFE, 
WHERE  A  ROUGH  RIDER  MAY  RIDE. 

The  fighting  was  over.  Spain  had  felt  the 
force  of  a  premonitory  blow,  and  knew  her  house 
of  cards  would  go  down  in  a  night  if  the  strength 
of  the  young  American  giant  were  ever  exerted 
to  the  full  against  her.  The  truce  was  fol 
lowed  with  prompt  orders  for  the  Eough  Eiders 
to  retire  to  the  hills  about  El  Caney,  and  go  into 
regular  camp;  for  peace  was  assured.  There 
had  been  no  assault  on  Havana,  and  the  Morro 
Castle  at  the  gate  of  that  harbor  had  not  been 
humbled  with  the  stroke  of  cannon-shot,  as  Amer 
ican  spirit  had  intended  should  be  done.  It  had 
not  been  necessary  to  march  the  victorious  army 
from  the  province  of  Santiago  to  the  country 


264  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

north  and  west.  The  isles  of  the  sea,  the  heritage 
of  the  Spaniard,  the  present  of  Columbus  to  the 
crowns  of  Castile  and  Leon,  had  fallen  at  one 
blow  into  the  possession  of  a  stronger  nation.  No 
matter  what  were  the  terms  of  the  peace;  no 
matter  what  were  the  resolutions  of  Congress 
and  the  proclamations  of  executive  officers ;  when 
General  Toral  surrendered  the  city  of  Santiago 
de  Cuba  a  new  realm  had  been  added  to  the  terri 
tory  of  the  American  republic. 

July  was  the  month  of  rains,  and  the  soldiers 
suffered  a  good  deal  from  exposure.  From 
beginning  to  end  they  never  had  been  given  the 
wagons  which  regulations  promise  those  who 
serve  in  the  army.  To  each  regiment  are  allotted 
twenty-five  wagons.  The  Eough  Eiders  did  not 
always  have  one.  At  times  they  had  as  many  as 
two,  but  never  three.  They  were  compelled  to 
organize  pack-trains  of  their  own,  as  has  been 
noted  in  an  earlier  chapter.  But  they  were  liable 
to  lose  these  every  day  because  superior  officers 
would  see  the  horses  and  want  them.  As  a  result, 
it  had  been  impossible  from  the  beginning  of  the 
occupation  of  the  island  for  Colonel  Eoosevelt 
to  get  to  the  front  supplies  of  clothing  or  medi 
cine  for  his  men.  On  the  coast  at  Daiquiri  still 


THE  EETUBN  HOME.  265 

stood  heaps  of  barrels  and  bales  and  boxes  of 
provisions  of  every  kind  that  were  needed  in 
camp.  But  the  problem  of  getting  them  over 
the  fifteen  miles  to  the  front  was  one  that  defied 
solution. 

As  long  as  the  fighting  lasted  the  men  were 
keyed  up  with  excitement,  and  refused  to  yield 
to  the  pain  or  the  weakness  that  attacked  them. 
But  when  the  strain  was  over  they  suffered  the 
collapse  which  must  in  reason  follow  such  an 
expenditure  of  vitality,  and  were  especially  sus 
ceptible  to  malaria.  If  they  had  received  the 
food  for  which  the  Government  had  paid,  the 
food  which  they  should  have  had,  it  is  likely 
the  soldiers  in  Cuba  would  have  come  home  in 
the  best  of  health.  As  it  was  every  man  ac 
quainted  with  the  facts  must  realize  that  the  offi 
cers  were  doing  very  well  indeed  to  get  back  with 
half  their  commands. 

The  headquarters  of  the  army  at  Washington 
were  a  good  deal  in  a  quandary  as  to  the  best 
disposition  to  make  of  the  men.  Some  corre 
spondents  of  newspapers,  and  some  of  the  men 
themselves,  with  a  prurient  love  for  sensation, 
had  published  in  the  United  States  the  untruth 
that  the  men  were  suffering  from  yellow  fever. 


266  THEODOKE     ROOSEVELT. 

It  was  one  of  the  maladies  of  Cuban  production, 
to  escape  which  the  war  had  been  fought.  It 
was  to  provide  against  the  possibility  of  import 
ing  that  undesirable  product  that  many  an  argu 
ment  for  '  '  free  Cuba ' '  had  been  made.  The  men 
did  not  have  yellow  fever  at  all.  There  was  a 
camp  far  to  the  rear  where  a  number  of  Cubans 
afflicted  with  this  malady  were  confined.  Once 
in  a  while  the  doctors  in  the  camps  of  the  Ameri 
can  soldiers  would  be  sure  they  saw  a  case  of 
genuine  yellow  fever  among  the  men,  and  would 
banish  the  unhappy  wight  to  the  hospital  at  the 
rear.  In  every  such  case  yellow  fever  developed. 
Other  cases,  diagnosed  in  precisely  the  same  man 
ner,  were  held  in  the  shabby  camp  hospitals,  and 
not  one  of  these  men  was  ever  afflicted  with  that 
malady.  Every  one  of  them  proved  to  be  suf 
fering  from  malarial  fever,  and  most  of  them 
recovered. 

But  it  was  by  no  means  certain  that  any 
would  long  remain  well.  The  continually  enlarg 
ing  hospitals  were  being  more  and  more  filled 
with  soldiers  who  had  not  flinched  either  at 
danger  or  labor,  and  who  were  wholly  disabled 
long  before  they  would  admit  it.  Hospital  sup 
plies  were  inadequate.  Actually,  no  cots  were 


THE  RETURN  HOME.  267 

delivered  until  the  day  before  the  commands 
sailed  from  Cuba.  It  is  doubtful  if  ever  bung 
ling  officialdom  used  an  army  so  shabbily. 

One  suggestion  from  Washington  was  to 
remove  the  troops  to  the  high  country,  the  moun 
tains  in  the  interior  of  Cuba.  That,  when  there 
were  no  wagons  to  serve  them  ten  miles  from  the 
shore!  Then  it  was  suggested  to  move  the 
troops  no  longer  needed  for  fighting  to  the  level 
land  west  of  Santiago.  That  was  a  sugar-cane 
country,  subject  to  heavy  rains  against  which 
the  men  had  no  protection.  They  were  better  off 
right  on  the  hills  of  El  Caney,  where  at  least  the 
water  from  the  torrents  that  fell  hourly  could 
run  down  the  gullies  and  leave  the  camp  un 
troubled.  But  every  officer  knew  the  one  thing 
needed  was  the  removal  of  the  troops  back  north 
—to  American  soil. 

They  all  knew  that,  but  few  of  them  felt  like 
telling  the  War  Department  what  it  ought  to  do. 
Colonel  Eoosevelt  could  see  no  reason  why  the 
truth  should  not  be  told.  He  knew  his  rank- 
not  in  the  army  alone,  but  among  men,  and  in 
the  hearts  of  his  fellow  citizens.  So  he  was  one 
of  the  field-officers  who  wrote  out  and  signed  and 
forwarded  to  Washington,  through  General 


268  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

Shafter,  the  " Round  Robin/'  by  which  the  re 
moval  of  the  troops  from  the  island  was  urged 
as  the  one  means  of  saving  them. 

And  three  days  later  the  command  for  the 
removal  was  received. 

It  may  seem  a  curious  thing  that  news  of 
an  early  departure  for  home  will  operate  as  a 
curative  for  sick  men ;  but  it  will.  And  many  a 
man  who  had  been  really  ill,  in  whose  eyes  were 
gathering  the  shadows  which  so  often  eclipse 
vision,  arose  from  his  improvised  couch  at  El 
Caney  and  came  to  New  York  a  well  man.  The 
knowledge  that  they  were  to  be  removed  was 
medication  to  every  man  in  the  camp.  Some 
were  recorded  as  yellow  fever  patients,  and  these 
were  left  on  the  island.  In  nearly  every  case 
they  died.  Some  in  equally  as  bad  health  were 
taken  aboard  the  transports,  and  these  usually 
recovered. 

August  7  the  Rough  Riders  embarked  at  the 
Daiquiri  iron  mines,  where  they  had  come  ashore 
seven  weeks  before.  It  was  one  of  the  shortest 
campaigns  on  record,  and  the  most  effective. 
For  though  peace  was  not  yet  declared,  it  was 
certain  the  United  States  could  get  any  terms 
desired.  There  were  better  facilities  for  putting 


THE  RETURN  HOME.  269 

the  men  on  board  than  there  had  been  for  land 
ing  them,  and  the  transport  Miami  sailed  north 
in  the  afternoon  with  its  closely  stored  cargo  of 
human  freight.  The  crowding  was  not  nearly 
so  great  as  on  the  Yucatan,  coming  down.  In 
the  first  place,  there  were  not  so  many  men.  It 
was  almost  exclusively  a  passenger  list  of  Eough 
Riders.  Some  of  the  space  taken  up  before  was 
vacated.  Over  there  in  their  graves  at  Las 
Guasimas,  or  on  the  sides  of  the  hill  of  San  Juan, 
were  men  who  had  pushed  about  full  of  health  in 
the  throng  that  covered  the  decks  of  the  Yucatan. 
Some  were  still  in  the  field-hospitals  at  El  Caney, 
or  in  the  yellow  fever  circle  at  the  rear,  who 
would  rather  have  shared  the  graves  of  the  fallen 
brave  of  July  1  than  to  have  missed  the  trip 
home  on  the  Miami. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  had  been  advanced  vir 
tually  to  the  rank  of  a  brigadier-general  at  the 
close  of  service  on  the  island,  by  reason  of  the 
engagements  elsewhere  of  Colonel  Wood,  who 
had  occupied  that  position  since  the  truce  began. 
And  when  the  transport  started  on  her  home 
ward  voyage  he  was  entrusted  with  policing  the 
ship  and  the  management  of  the  men.  The  ship 
was  kept  in  good  sanitary  condition,  and  in  spite 


270  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

of  the  tremors  that  attacked  timid  people  in  the 
United  States  when  they  read  in  sensational 
papers  of  the  yellow  fever  that  the  soldiers  were 
bringing  home,  these  men  were  inspected  on 
arrival,  and  at  once  were  permitted  to  land. 
Their  physical  condition  was  one  that  need  ter 
rify  no  one ;  and  it  certainly  appealed  to  all  that 
was  humane  in  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen. 
Shortly  after  leaving  the  island,  the  captain 
of  the  ship  told  Colonel  Koosevelt  that  the  stokers 
and  engineers  were  inclined  to  disobey  orders. 
A  few  of  them  had  been  drinking  intoxicants, 
and  there  was  the  beginning  of  a  mutiny  among 
them.  Colonel  Eoosevelt  went  straight  at  the 
root  of  the  matter.  He  shrewdly  guessed  that 
many  of  his  men  had  brought  liquor  on  board, 
and  he  assembled  them,  the  same  as  at  roll-call, 
and  told  them  there  could  be  no  drinking  on  the 
ship.  There  was  too  much  at  stake  to  permit 
such  chances  to  be  taken.  He  would  take  care 
of  all  the  whisky  his  men  would  voluntarily  give 
him,  and  would  return  it  when  they  landed. 
After  they  had  a  chance  to  make  this  surrender, 
he  would  have  a  search  of  the  ship,  and  would 
throw  overboard  all  the  liquor  he  found.  As 
soon  as  the  soldiers  " broke  ranks"  they  hurried 


THE  EETUEN  HOME.  271 

to  bring  their  bottles.  The  search  revealed  a 
few  other  bottles,  more  or  less  skilfully  hidden, 
and  these  were  consigned  to  the  sea.  That  was 
the  end  of  the  drinking.  Then  he  took  a  number 
of  his  most  reliable  men  to  the  engine-rooms,  and 
told  the  mutinous  people  there  if  they  failed  for 
an  instant  to  obey  orders  he  would  put  them  in 
irons,  and  set  his  own  men  to  the  task  of  pro 
viding  power  for  the  ship.  ' i  I  could  have  drawn 
from  the  regiment  sufficient  skilled  men  to  fill 
every  position  in  the  entire  ship's  crew,  from 
captain  to  stoker,"  said  the  Colonel  in  comment 
ing  on  the  incident.  But  there  was  no  further 
need  of  complaint.  The  sailors  did  their  full 
duty,  and  the  skilled  men,  serving  in  the  ranks 
of  the  volunteer  army,  were  allowed  to  go  back 
to  their  rest  and  their  pastimes. 

It  was  a  trying  voyage,  even  for  the  men  who 
were  well.  It  was  doubly  distressing  for  the 
sick.  Besides  Colonel  Roosevelt  but  one  other 
officer  in  the  regiment  had  escaped  disease. 
Kichard  Harding  Davis  has  told  in  admirable 
stories  of  the  pathos  of  that  home-coming  for  the 
men  in  * '  sick  bay. "  As  to  the  others,  their  occu 
pations  were  various.  A  good  many  played  cards. 
There  was  some  gambling,  and  the  commanding 


272  THEODOEE    ROOSEVELT. 

officer  knew  it.  He  deprecated  the  practice,  and 
never  indulged  in  it.  But  lie  wanted  the  men  to 
have  as  much  occupation  and  relaxation  as  was 
possible,  and  believed  that  the  loss  of  a  month's 
pay  would  be  less  of  a  calamity  to  the  men  than 
the  imposition  of  rigid  restrictions.  And  so  disci 
pline  was  removed  so  far  as  was  consistent  with 
maintaining  order  and  cleanliness.  Every  even 
ing  dozens  of  groups  would  form  in  every  part 
of  the  ship,  and  the  men  who  could  sing  were 
drafted  into  the  service  of  entertaining  their 
comrades.  The  musical  instruments  that  had 
escaped  destruction  in  the  marches  and  loss  in 
the  handling  of  scattered  baggage,  were  wel 
comed  again.  There  were  occasional  dances,  with 
extemporized  adjuncts  of  dress  which  should 
distinguish  the  "men"  from  the  "women." 
Occasionally  there  were  courts-martial,  in  which 
culprits  were  accused  of  absurd  offenses,  and 
tried  with  all  the  rigors  of  a  tribunal  in  actual 
war.  Usually  the  forfeits  were  to  be  paid  in  din 
ners  at  some  famous  cafe  in  New  York,  when  they 
should  have  reached  "home." 

The  Eough  Eiders  had  started  in  with  a  num 
ber  of  mascots.  One  was  a  young  mountain  lion, 
brought  by  the  Arizona  men.  Another  was  an 


THE  KETURN  HOME.  273 

eagle  from  New  Mexico,  and  a  third  was  a  very 
ugly,  but  very  wise,  little  dog.  All  three  had 
been  lost  time  and  again,  but  always  recovered, 
and  they  made  the  return  trip  with  the  soldiers, 
the  cougar  trying  continually  to  make  a  meal 
off  either  eagle  or  canine,  and  never  succeeding. 
The  voyage  occupied  nine  days.  The  only 
death  on  board  was  that  of  a  trooper  who  had 
been  indiscreet  enough  to  imbibe  a  large  quan 
tity  of  Cuban  whisky  on  the  evening  of  June  30. 
He  had  not  yet  recovered  next  morning  when 
the  march  began.  The  fatigue  and  heat  were 
too  much  for  him,  and  he  succumbed.  He  never 
recovered,  and  on  the  third  day  out  from  Dai 
quiri  he  died.  His  body  was  wrapped  in  his 
hammock  and  covered  with  the  stars  and  stripes, 
and  then  the  burial  service  was  read  over  him. 
At  its  conclusion  the  flag  was  lifted,  and  the 
hammock,  weighted,  was  slipped  over  the  side 
and  into  the  sea.  In  the  evening  Colonel  Roose 
velt,  making  his  regular  rounds,  noticed  a  cer-^ 
tain  lessening  of  customary  activity.  There  was 
a  somberness  on  the  faces  of  the  men  which  they 
had  not  worn  even  in  the  tragedy  of  battle.  And, 
at  the  side  of  a  gun  he  found  a  group  to  which 
one  of  the  troopers  was  singing  a  fragment 


274  THEODOBE    KOOSEVELT. 

caught  from  the  flotsam  of  song  that  spreads 
over  the  land— 

"We  had  no  costly  winding-sheet, 

But  we  placed  two  round  shot  at  his  feet. 

We  wrapped  him  about  in  the  flag  of  the  brave, 

And  he  was  fit  for  a  soldier 's  grave. ' ' 

The  selection  of  Camp  Wykoix*  was  probably 
the  best  that  could  have  been  made.  It  was  not 
ideal,  and  the  same  lack  of  preparation  was  noted 
there  as  at  Daiquiri,  and  everywhere  else  in  the 
campaign.  It  is  curious  to  reflect  on  the  moun 
tains  of  supplies  for  which  the  Government  paid, 
and  which  were  never  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  men.  But  that  sandy  beach  toward  the 
extreme  east  end  of  Long  Island  was  healthy, 
if  cool  northern  breezes,  pure  air  and  the  wel 
come  of  friends  could  make  it  so.  It  is  likely 
that  a  better  physical  condition  resulted  from 
their  location  there.  The  only  criticism  is  that 
departmental  ability  seemed  so  shortened  that  a 
state  of  "unpreparedness"  remained  to  the  very 
end.  It  is  curious  that  mills  had  time  to  manu 
facture,  and  railroads  had  time  to  deliver,  and 
private  citizens  had  time  to  act,  and  yet  that 
millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  provisions  sorely 
needed  never  reached  the  men,  or  reached  them 
only  after  the  need  had  passed. 


THE  BETUBN  HOME.  275 

The  month  at  Camp  Wykoff  provided  an 
experience  which  was  at  least  interesting.  There 
was  policing  of  camp,  and  the  usual  detail  of 
barrack-keeping;  but  the  war  was  over.  There 
was  no  longer  even  a  hope  of  further  service 
about  Havana,  and  no  chance  for  a  trip  to  Porto 
Eico.  Spain  had  been  driven  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  had  lost  the  Philippines  as  well. 
After  five  months  of  service  or  of  waiting,  the 
men  could  hope  for  nothing  better  than  a  return 
to  the  duties  which  had  engaged  them  before  that 
night  in  February  when  the  Maine  was  de 
stroyed.  But  there  was  no  lack  of  occupation  as 
the  work  of  disbanding  the  army  went  on.  For 
one  thing,  there  were  a  good  many  horses  at 
Camp  Wykoff.  That  whole  portion  of  the  Eough 
Eiders '  command  which  had  been  left  at  Tampa 
joined  the  returning  veterans,  and  most  of  the 
camp  equipage  and  the  regimental  property 
was  once  more  restored  to  its  owners.  In  Cuba, 
of  course,  the  title  " Eough  Eiders"  was  a  mis 
nomer.  The  men  did  not  ride,  because  they  had 
no  horses.  Even  Colonel  Eoosevelt,  who  had 
taken  two  horses  to  the  island  with  him,  lost  one 
by  drowning  at  the  Daiquiri  landing,  and  he 
abandoned  the  other,  little  "Texas,"  just  as  he 


276  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

started  at  the  head  of  his  men  for  the  rush  tip 
San  Juan  hill.  So  that  a  regiment  that  probably 
could  have  ridden  through  or  over  every  oppos 
ing  force  in  the  island,  had  memories,  only  of 
very  laborious  trudging  on  foot.  But  here  at  the 
eastern  end  of  Long  Island  they  had  all  the  horses 
they  wanted.  They  found  the  country  back  of 
their  camps  strikingly  similar  to  the  sand  plains 
on  which  they  had  ridden  before  enlistment.- 
And  they  took  abundant  exercise  there. 

The  camp,  in  those  days,  was  the  Mecca  for 
New  York's  millions.  It  seemed  to  the  soldiers 
that  all  the  population  of  the  great  city  came  out 
to  see  them.  The  day  of  privation  had  passed. 
There  was  an  abundance  not  only  of  the  substan 
tial  things  of  life,  but  of  delicacies  as  well.  Every 
mess  was  enriched  with  dainty  offerings  of 
admirers  from  the  city.  Every  train  on  the 
shoddy  little  railroad  brought  visitors,  and  every 
visitor  seemed  to  have  made  it  a  part  of  the 
errand  to  bring  some  offering  ' '  for  the  heroes  of 
Santiago." 

Besides,  the  men  were  permitted  to  go  to  the 
city  whenever  their  health  and  prudent  discipline 
would  permit.  And  wherever  they  went  in  New 
York,  with  their  khaki  uniforms,  and  the  insignia 


THE  KETUKN  HOME.  277 

of  the  Rough  Eiders,  they  were  most  welcome 
guests.    They  had  started  to  the  coast  of  Cuba, 
from  the  camp  at  El  Caney,  in  a  state  of  rags 
and  tatters.     The  clothing  issued  at  the  begin 
ning  of  their  service  had  been  wholly  worn  out, 
and  many  of  the  men  went  to   Daiquiri  for 
embarkation  absolutely  barefoot.    At  the  coast 
they  received  the  clothing  that  had  been  sent  to 
the  island  for  them,  but  which  incompetence  had 
not  been  able  to  give  further  transportation ;  so 
that  they  were  fairly  dressed  when  they  came 
to  their  Northern  camp.    But  some  had  brought 
along  the  rags  of  those  earlier  uniforms,  and 
these  tattered  garments  were  souvenirs  of  pro 
nounced  value  in  the  eyes  of  visitors.    Every 
thing  that  had  been  in  Cuba  with  the  Rough 
Riders  was  in  demand.    Autographs  were  con 
stantly  sought;   and  the  men  from  the  frontier, 
who  were  far  more  clumsy  with  a  pen  than  with 
a  revolver  or  a  lariat,  found  their  simple  signa 
tures  were  things  of  value.    The  more  notable 
men  among  the  Rough  Riders  could  have  em 
ployed   all   their   spare   time    complying   with 
requests   for  autographs;    and  some   of  them 
pretty  nearly  achieved  that  record. 

There  was  another  phase  of  the  life  at  Camp 


278  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

Wykofr"  which  cannot  be  overlooked.  It  went  to 
the  deeper  things  of  human  life.  Here  were  men 
in  the  vigor  of  splendid  health,  who  had  gone 
through  grievous  peril  without  flinching,  men 
who  had  performed  acts  of  splendid  heroism 
and  had  come  back  scatheless.  But  there  were 
wounded  men,  as  well.  There  were  men  on  whom 
disease  had  set  its  stamp,  and  who  were  fighting 
for  a  return  to  that  health  which  they  felt  was 
their  right.  There  was  happiness,  and  pleasant 
occupation,  and  enjoyable  pastime  in  the  camp ; 
but  there  was  suffering,  too.  And  among  the 
thousands  who  came  daily  to  the  camp,  there 
were  very  many  whose  errand  was  purely  one  of 
mercy.  They  left  the  lighter  purpose  of  self- 
gratification,  the  whetting  of  curiosity,  for 
others,  and  went  themselves  to  the  tents  of  pain. 
They  brought  such  food  as  princes  could  hardly 
have  commanded.  They  brought  eminent  physi 
cians,  who  gently  and  nobly  added  their  judg 
ment  and  advice  to  the  thoughtful  care  of  the 
regimental  surgeons.  In  many  a  tent  beautiful 
women  sat  reading  to  sick  soldiers  through  the 
September  afternoons.  Everything  that  care 
and  gratitude  and  appreciation  could  suggest  was 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  invalids. 


THE  KETUKN  HOME.  279 

Miss  Helen  Gould  was  one  of  those  whose 
benefactions  won  notice  at  the  time.  They  were 
different  from  others  simply  because  they  repre 
sented  a  greater  expenditure  of  money ;  but  they 
were  of  a  kind  with  the  service  she  rendered  to 
the  soldiers  throughout  the  war.  And  the  thought 
which  prompted  her  to  so  kindly  a  series  of 
actions  was  as  lofty  and  pure  as  mind  of  man 
can  imagine.  It  was  related,  in  quality,  to  the 
sentiment  which  led  the  sons  of  the  rich  to  enlist 
in  the  ranks.  If  she  possessed  great  wealth,  she 
gave  as  a  woman  of  great  wealth  could,  and  so 
simple  and  genuine  was  her  devotion  that  she 
won  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  soldiers  which 
will  hold  to  the  end  of  life. 

Her  act  was  duplicated,  perhaps  in  lesser 
degree  but  with  like  sincerity,  by  thousands. 
Eich  men  and  women  all  over  the  country  sent 
money  to  be  expended  for  the  comfort  of  the  men. 
One  millionaire  sent  an  entire  shipload  of  ice. 
President  McKinley  visited  the  camp  with  most 
of  the  members  of  his  cabinet,  employing  the 
hours  in  walking  through  the  streets  of  the  "city 
of  tents,"  talking  with  the  soldiers,  encouraging 
those  who  were  sick,  making  sure  that  everything 
possible  was  being  done  for  their  comfort,  and 


280  THEODOKE     ROOSEVELT. 

leaving  them  with  the  profound  expression  of  a 
nation's  gratitude.  The  Secretary  of  War  spent 
two  days  at  the  camp,  sleeping  in  a  tent  one  night, 
and  sharing  the  experiences  of  those  whose  duty 
it  was  to  remain. 

On  the  day  of  Secretary  Alger's  visit  a  rather 
interesting  event  took  place.  Mounted  drill  had 
continued  at  intervals  through  the  stay  at  Mon- 
tauk  Point,  largely  as  a  measure  of  giving 
employment  and  diversion  to  the  men.  One  day 
while  the  members  of  the  Third  cavalry  were 
getting  ready  for  the  work,  a  horse  threw  a 
trooper,  and  ran  away.  It  was  caught  and 
returned,  and  a  number  of  Eough  Eiders  strolled 
over  to  see  the  second  attempt.  The  trooper 
mounted  again,  and  again  was  thrown.  The 
horse  was  a  huge,  vicious  sorrel,  and  what  is 
known  along  the  Eio  Grande  as  a  "bad  bucker." 
None  of  the  men  of  the  Third  could  ride  him. 
The  Eough  Eiders  jeered  and  mocked  at  them, 
and  were  dared  to  ride  the  horse,  if  they  had  any 
man  in  the  command  who  was  able.  Sergeant 
Darnell  was  selected,  and  next  day,  in  presence 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  trial  was  made.  In 
a  big,  open  flat  in  front  of  Colonel  Eoosevelt's 
tent  the  big  sorrel  was  led,  and  the  whole  camp, 


LANDING   AT    MONTAUK    POINT. 
COLONEL    ROOSEVELT   AND   GENERAL    JOSEPH    WHEELER 


THE  RETURN  HOME.  281 

together  with  hundreds  of  visitors,  stood  about 
watching  the  contest.  The  result  was  that  after  as 
fine  a  bit  of  rough  riding  as  one  would  care  to  see, 
in  which  one  scarcely  knew  whether  to  won 
der  more  at  the  extraordinary  viciousness  and 
agile  strength  of  the  horse  or  at  the  horseman 
ship  and  courage  of  the  rider,  Darnell  came  off 
victorious,  his  seat  never  once  having  been 
shaken. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  tells  in  graphic  language 
of  the  final  scenes  of  the  Rough  Riders  as  an  arm 
of  the  Republic's  military  strength:  "The  last 
night  before  we  were  mustered  out  was  spent  in 
noisy  but  entirely  harmless  hilarity,  which  I 
ignored.  Every  form  of  celebration  took  place 
in  the  ranks.  A  former  populist  candidate  for 
attorney-general  in  Colorado  delivered  a  fervent 
oration  in  favor  of  free  silver.  A  number  of  the 
college  boys  sang ;  but  most  of  the  men  gave  vent 
to  their  feelings  by  means  of  improvised  dances. 
In  these  the  Indians  took  the  lead,  pure  bloods 
and  half-breeds  alike,  the  cowboys  and  miners 
cheerfully  joining  in  and  forming  part  of  the 
howling,  grunting  rings  that  went  bounding 
about  the  great  fires  they  had  kindled. 

"Next  morning  Sergeant  Wright  took  down 


282  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  colors,  and  Sergeant  Guitilias  the  standard, 
for  the  last  time.  The  horses,  the  rifles,  the  rest 
of  the  regimental  property  had  been  turned  in. 
Officers  and  men  shook  hands  and  said  good-bye 
to  one  another,  and  then  they  scattered  to  their 
homes  in  the  North  and  the  South,  the  few  going 
back  to  the  great  cities  of  the  East,  the  many 
turning  again  to  the  plains,  the  mountains  and 
the  deserts  of  the  West  and  the  strange  South 
west.  This  was  on  September  15,  the  day  which 
marked  the  close  of  the  four  months'  life  of  a 
regiment  of  as  gallant  fighters  as  ever  wore  the 
United  States  uniform. ' ' 

It  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten  when  the 
men  filed  past  Colonel  Eoosevelt,  and  took  their 
loved  commander  by  the  hand.  Although  the 
subordinate  of  Colonel  Wood,  he  had  been  with 
the  Rough  Eiders  all  the  time— every  hour  of 
every  day  and  night.  He  had  been  with  them  in 
camp,  on  rations  precisely  as  short  as  their  own, 
as  wet  and  miserable  as  were  they ;  he  had  faced 
bullets  with  them,  he  had  shared  the  danger  of 
charges,  and  taken  even  more  than  an  equal 
allotment  of  the  chances  of  war.  And  he  had 
brought  them  home  in  triumph  from  a  glorious 
campaign.  They  shook  his  hand,  but  they  said 


THE  RETURN  HOME.  283 

little.  Generally  they  looked  at  him  as  they 
approached,  but  let  their  eyes  drop  as  they 
touched  his  hand.  And  then  the  relation  of 
commander  and  soldier  was  ended. 

The  service  had  been  a  little  different  from 
that  obtaining  in  the  regular  establishment.  Col 
onel  Eoosevelt  had  been  a  good  deal  of  a  dictator, 
when  necessary  under  unusual  circumstances. 
He  cared  little  indeed  for  red  tape  and 
formalities.  Eesults  were  all  he  demanded.  He 
had  inflicted  summary  punishment  when  a  case 
required  severe  discipline,  and  had  remitted  sen 
tence  when  heroism  won  favor  for  the  one-time 
delinquent.  They  were  very  sure  that  he  had 
administered  absolute  justice,  and  had  given 
them  the  benefit  of  every  possible  consideration 
They  had  been  ' '  resolute  to  do  well, ' '  and  he  had 
helped  them. 

There  is  an  admirable  passage  at  the  conclu 
sion  of  his  book, ' '  The  Bough  Eiders ' ' ;  and  it  so 
fittingly  closes  this  portion  of  the  story  that  it 
should  be  read  in  full:  "It  is  difficult  for  me  to 
withstand  the  temptation  to  tell  what  has  befal 
len  some  of  my  men  since  the  regiment  dis 
banded:  how  McGinty,  after  spending  some 
weeks  in  Eoosevelt  hospital  in  New  York  with  an 


284  THEODOEE     KOOSEVELT. 

attack  of  fever,  determined  to  call  upon  his  cap 
tain,  Woodbury  Kane,  when  he  got  out,  and  pro 
curing  a  horse  rode  until  he  found  Kane's  house, 
when  he  hitched  his  horse  to  a  lamp-post  and 
strolled  in ;  how  Cherokee  Bill  married  a  wife  in 
Hoboken,  and  as  that  pleasant  city  ultimately 
proved  an  uncongenial  field  for  his  activities,  how 
I  had  to  send  both  himself  and  his  wife  out  to  the 
Territory;  how  Happy  Jack,  haunted  by  the 
social  methods  obtaining  in  the  best  saloons  of 
Arizona,  applied  for  the  position  of  '  bouncer- 
out'  at  the  executive  mansion  when  I  was 
elected  governor,  and  how  I  got  him  a  job  at 
railroading  instead,  and  finally  had  to  ship  him 
back  to  his  own  territory  as  well ;  how  a  valued 
friend  from  a  cow  ranch  in  the  remote  West 
accepted  a  pressing  invitation  to  spend  a  few 
days  at  the  home  of  another  ex-trooper,  a  New 
Yorker  of  fastidious  instincts,  and  arrived  with 
an  umbrella  as  his  only  baggage;  how  poor 
Holderman  and  Pollock  both  died  and  were  bur 
ied  with  military  honors,  all  of  Pollock's  tribes 
men  coming  to  the  burial;  how  Tom  Isbell 
joined  Buffalo  Bill's  show,  and  how  on  the  other 
hand  Eowland  scornfully  refused  to  remain  in 
the  East  at  all,  writing  to  a  gallant  New  Yorker 


THE  EETUKN  HOME.  285 

who  had  been  his  bunkie:  'Well,  old  boy,  I'm 
glad  I  didn't  go  home  with  you  for  them  people 
to  look  at,  because  I  ain't  no  buffalo  nor  a  rinoce- 
ros  nor  a  giraffe,  and  I  don't  like  to  be  Stared  at, 
and  you  know  we  didn't  do  no  hard  fighting  down 
there.  I  have  been  in  closer  places  than  that 
right  here  in  Yunited  States,  that  is  better  men 
to  fight  than  them  dam  Spaniards. '  In  another 
letter  Eowland  tells  of  the  fate  of  Tom  Darnell, 
the  rider— he  who  rode  the  bucking  sorrel  of  the 
Third  cavalry:  *  There  ain't  much  news  to  write 
except  that  poor  old  Tom  Darnell  got  killed 
about  a  month  ago.  Tom  and  another  fellow  had 
a  fight,  and  he  shot  Tom  through  the  heart  and 
Tom  was  dead  when  he  hit  the  floor.  Tom  was 
sure  a  good  old  boy,  and  I  sure  hated  to  hear  of 
him  going,  and  he  had  plenty  of  grit  too.  No 
man  ever  called  on  him  for  a  fight  that  he  didn't 
get  it.' 

"My  men  were  children  of  the  dragon's 
blood,  and  if  they  had  no  outland  foe  to  fight  and 
no  outlet  for  their  daring  and  vigorous  energy, 
there  was  always  the  chance  of  their  fighting  one 
another.  But  the  great  majority,  if  given  the 
chance  of  hard  or  dangerous  work  availed  them 
selves  of  it  with  the  utmost  eagerness,  and  though 


286  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

fever  sickened  and  weakened  them  so  that  many 
died  from  it  during  the  few  months  following 
their  return,  yet  as  a  whole  they  are  now  doing 
fairly  well.  A  few  have  shot  other  men  or  been 
themselves  shot;  a  few  ran  for  office  and  got 
elected,  as  Llewellyn  and  Luna  in  New  Mexico, 
or  defeated  like  Wilcox  and  Brodie  in  Arizona. 
Some  have  been  trying  hard  to  get  to  the  Philip 
pines;  some  have  returned  to  college  or  to  the 
law,  or  to  the  factory,  or  the  counting-room. 
Most  of  them  have  gone  back  to  the  mine,  the 
ranch  and  the  hunting  camp;  and  the  great 
majority  have  taken  up  the  threads  of  their  lives 
where  they  dropped  them  when  the  Maine  was 
blown  up,  and  the  country  called  them  to  arms. ' ' 
Perhaps  no  better  conclusion  could  be  found 
for  this  part  of  the  recital  than  an  extract  from 
Major- General  Joseph  Wheeler's  letter  to  Colo 
nel  Eoosevelt  when  the  army  was  disbanded. 
After  sketching  in  outline  the  record  of  the 
Rough  Eiders,  General  Wheeler  adds:  "The 
valor  displayed  by  you  was  not  without  sacrifice. 
Eighteen  per  cent.,  or  nearly  one  in  five,  of  the 
cavalry  division  fell  on  the  field  either  killed  or 
wounded.  We  mourn  the  loss  of  these  heroic 
dead,  and  a  grateful  country  will  always  revere 


THE  RETURN  HOME.  287 

their  memory.  Whatever  may  be  my  fate,  wher 
ever  my  steps  may  lead,  my  heart  will  always 
burn  with  increasing  admiration  for  your  cour 
age  in  action,  your  fortitude  under  privation,  and 
your  constant  devotion  to  duty  in  its  highest 
sense,  whether  in  battle,  in  bivouac,  or  upon  the 
march. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XV. 

GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK. 

EMPIRE  STATE  JUBILANTLY  REWARDS  COLONEL  ROOSEVELT  WITH 
ITS  HIGHEST  OFFICE  —  INAUGURATES  REFORM  IN  EVERY 
BRANCH  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  —  ESTABLISHES  THE  PRIN 
CIPLE  OF  STREET  FRANCHISE  TAXATION  —  DEWEY  DAY  IN 
NEW  YORK. 

The  fame  of  .Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders  had 
given  their  organizer  and  leader  a  popularity  in 
the  United  States  second  only  to  that  of  Admiral 
Dewey,  and  for  some  time  before  he  returned  to 
New  York  he  had  been  put  forward  prominently 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Governorship  of  that  State 
on  the  Republican  ticket.  Governor  Frank  S. 
Black  had  been  elected  by  an  enormous  plurality 
two  years  previously,  and  according  to  all  tradi 
tions  should  have  been  renominated.  He  was  set 
aside,  however,  for  the  new  hero,  and  in  the 
convention  at  Saratoga  held  September  27, 
1898,  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  nominated  with 
great  enthusiasm.  The  friends  of  Governor 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  289 

Black  had  fought  bitterly  as  long  as  there  seemed 
a  chance  for  success.  The  charge  was  made  that 
Colonel  Eoosevelt  was  ineligible  for  the  nomi 
nation,  as  he  had  relinquished  his  residence  in 
New  York  when  he  went  to  Washington  to  enter 
the  Navy  Department.  The  leading  politicians 
were  opposed  to  Colonel  Roosevelt  for  other 
reasons  than  those  of  precedent  which  they 
offered  as  an  argument  for  their  support  of 
Governor  Black.  They  had  not  forgotten  the 
ways  of  the  young  man  who  overturned  so  many 
precedents  on  his  entrance  to  the  assembly  nearly 
twenty  years  before,  the  tenacity  with  which  he 
had  held  to  his  principles  when  in  the  Civil 
Service  Commission,  nor  the  quiet  firmness  with 
which  he  had  refused  to  obey  the  demands  of 
party  leaders  while  he  was  president  of  the 
Police  Board.  He  was  not  the  man  politicians 
were  seeking.  In  fact  they  would  have  rejoiced 
had  he  found  ranch  life  so  fascinating  that  he 
could  not  have  given  it  up  at  all.  He  was  no 
more  entertaining  as  a  writer  of  wild  adventure 
on  the  frontier  than  as  an  actor  in  the  political 
arena;  but  the  entertainment  was  of  a  different 
sort  and  the  men  who  were  serving  their  coun 
try  for  their  own  good  liked  the  dashing  colonel 


290  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

far  better  as  a  hero  at  a  distance  than  as  a 
reformer  in  their  assemblies.  But  the  people 
had  decided  to  have  Colonel  Koosevelt  for  their 
next  Governor  and  the  delegates  to  the  conven 
tion  did  not  dare  deny  them. 

Senator  Horace  White,  of  Syracuse,  was 
chairman  of  the  convention  in  which  Colonel 
Eoosevelt  was  nominated.  Judge  J.  R.  Cady, 
of  Hudson,  nominated  Governor  Black,  and  the 
Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew  presented  the  name  of 
Colonel  Roosevelt  in  the  following  speech: 

DEPEW 's  SPEECH  NOMINATING  ROOSEVELT. 

' i  Gentlemen :  Not  since  1863  has  the  Repub 
lican  party  met  in  convention  when  the  condi 
tions  of  the  country  were  so  interesting  or  so 
critical.  Then  the  emancipation  proclamation  of 
President  Lincoln,  giving  freedom  and  citizen 
ship  to  four  millions  of  slaves  brought  about  a 
revolution  in  the  internal  policy  of  our  Govern 
ment  which  seemed  to  multitudes  of  patriotic 
men  full  of  the  gravest  dangers  to  the  Republic. 
The  effect  of  the  situation  was  the  sudden  and 
violent  sundering  of  the  ties  which  bound  the 
present  to  the  past  and  the  future.  New  prob 
lems  were  precipitated  upon  our  statesmen  to 
solve,  which  were  not  to  be  found  in  the  text- 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  291 

books  of  the  schools,  nor  in  the  manuals  of  tradi 
tions  of  Congress.  The  one  courageous,  con 
structive  part  which  our  politics  has  known  for 
half  a  century  solved  those  problems  so  success 
fully  that  the  regenerated  and  disenthralled 
republic  has  grown  and  prospered  under  its  new 
birth  of  liberty  beyond  all  precedent  and  every 
prediction. 

"Now,  as  then,  the  unexpected  has  happened. 
The  wildest  dream  ever  born  of  the  imagination 
of  the  most  optimistic  believer  in  our  destiny 
could  not  foresee  when  McKinley  was  elected 
two  years  ago  the  on-rushing  torrent  of  events 
of  the  past  three  months.  We  are  either  to  be 
submerged  by  this  break  in  the  dikes  erected  by 
Washington  about  our  Government,  or  we  are  to 
find  by  the  wise  utilization  of  the  conditions 
forced  upon  us  how  to  be  safer  and  stronger 
within  our  old  boundaries,  and  to  add  incalcula 
bly  to  American  enterprise  and  opportunity  by 
becoming  master  of  the  sea,  and  entering  with 
the  surplus  of  our  manufactures  the  markets  of 
the  world.  We  cannot  retreat  or  hide.  We  must 
'ride  the  waves  and  direct  the  storm.'  A  war 
has  been  fought  and  won,  and  vast  possessions, 
near  and  far  away,  have  been  acquired.  In  the 


292  THEODOEE    ROOSEVELT. 

short  space  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  days 
politicians  and  parties  have  been  forced  to  meet 
new  questions  and  to  take  sides  upon  startling 
issues.  The  face  of  the  whole  world  has  been 
changed.  The  maps  of  yesterday  are  obsolete. 
Columbus,  looking  for  the  Orient  and  its  fabled 
treasures,  sailed  four  hundred  years  ago  into  the 
land-locked  harbor  of  Santiago,  and  to-day  his 
spirit  sees  his  bones  resting  under  the  flag  of  a 
new  and  great  country,  which  has  found  the  way 
and  conquered  the  outposts,  and  is  knocking  at 

the  door  of  the  farthest  East 

"The  wife  of  a  cabinet  officer  told  me  that 
when  Assistant  Secretary  Eoosevelt  announced 
that  he  had  determined  to  resign  and  raise  a  regi 
ment  for  the  war,  some  of  the  ladies  in  the  admin 
istration  thought  it  their  duty  to  remonstrate 
with  him.  They  said:  'Mr.  Koosevelt,  you  have 
six  children,  the  youngest  a  few  months  old,  and 
the  eldest  not  yet  in  the  teens.  While  the  country 
is  full  of  young  men  who  have  no  such  responsi 
bilities  and  are  eager  to  enlist,  you  have  no  right 
to  leave  the  burden  upon  your  wife  of  the  care, 
support,  and  bringing  up  of  that  family.'  Eoose 
velt 's  answer  was  a  Koosevelt  answer:  'I  have 
done  as  much  as  any  one  to  bring  on  this  war, 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  293 

because  I  believed  it  must  come,  and  the  sooner 
the  better,  and  now  that  the  war  has  come  I  have 
no  right  to  ask  others  to  do  the  fighting  and  stay 
at  home  myself. ' 

' i  The  regiment  of  Eough  Eiders  was  an  origi 
nal  American  suggestion,  and  to  demonstrate 
that  patriotism  and  indomitable  courage  are 
common  to  all  conditions  of  American  life.  The 
same  great  qualities  are  found  under  the  slouch 
hat  of  the  cowboy  and  the  elegant  imported  tile 
of  New  York's  gilded  youth.  Their  mannerisms 
are  the  veneers  of  the  West  and  the  East ;  their 
manhood  is  the  same. 

"In  that  hot  and  pest-cursed  climate  of  Cuba 
officers  had  opportunities  for  protection  from 
miasma  and  fever  which  were  not  possible  for 
the  men.  But  the  Rough  Riders  endured  no 
hardships  nor  dangers  which  were  not  shared 
by  their  colonel.  He  helped  them  dig  the  ditches ; 
he  stood  beside  them  in  the  deadly  dampness  of 
the  trenches.  No  floored  tent  for  him  if  his  com 
rades  must  sleep  on  the  ground  and  under  the 
sky.  In  that  world-famed  charge  of  the  Rough 
Riders  through  the  hail  of  shot  and  up  the  hill 
of  San  Juan  their  colonel  was  a  hundred  feet  in 
advance.  The  bullets  whistling  by  him  are 


294  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

rapidly  thinning  the  ranks  of  those  desperate 
fighters.  The  colonel  trips  and  falls  and  the  line 
wavers,  but  in  a  moment  he  is  up  again,  waving 
his  sword,  climbing  and  shouting.  He  bears  a 
charmed  life.  He  climbs  the  barbed-wire  fence 
and  plunges  through,  yelling,  'Come  on,  boys; 
come  on,  and  we  will  lick  hell  out  of  them. '  The 
moral  force  of  that  daring  cowed  and  awed  the 
Spaniards,  and  they  fled  from  their  fortified 
heights  and  Santiago  was  ours. 

1 1  Colonel  Eoosevelt  is  the  typical  citizen-sol 
dier.  The  sanitary  condition  of  our  army  in 
Cuba  might  not  have  been  known  for  weeks 
through  the  regular  channels  of  inspection  and 
report  to  the  various  departments.  Here  the 
citizen  in  the  colonel  overcame  the  official  routine 
and  reticence  of  the  soldier.  His  graphic  letter 
to  the  Government  and  the  round  robin  he  ini 
tiated  brought  suddenly  and  sharply  to  our  atten 
tion  the  frightful  dangers  of  disease  and  death, 
and  resulted  in  our  boys  being  brought  imme 
diately  home.  He  may  have  been  subject  to 
court-martial  for  violating  the  articles  of  war, 
but  the  humane  impulses  of  the  people  gave  him 
gratitude  and  applause. 

"It  is  seldom  in  political  conflicts,  when  new 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  295 

and  unexpected  issues  have  to  be  met  and  de 
cided,  that  a  candidate  can  be  found  who  per 
sonifies  the  popular  and  progressive  side  of  these 
issues.  Kepresentative  men  move  the  masses  to 
enthusiasm  and  are  more  easily  understood  than 
measures.  Lincoln,  with  his  immortal  declara 
tion,  made  at  a  time  when  to  make  it  assured  his 
defeat  by  Douglas  for  the  United  States  Senate, 
that  'a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand. 
I  believe  this  Government  cannot  endure  perma 
nently  half -slave  and  half- free,'  embodied  the 
anti-slavery  doctrine.  Grant,  with  Appomattox 
and  the  parole  of  honor  to  the  Confederate  army 
behind  him,  stood  for  the  perpetuity  of  union  and 
liberty.  McKinley,  by  his  long  and  able  advo 
cacy  of  its  principles,  is  the  leading  spirit  for  the 
protection  of  American  industries.  For  this 
year,  for  this  crisis,  for  the  voters  of  the  Empire 
State,  for  the  young  men  of  the  country  and  the 
upward,  onward  and  outward  trend  of  the  United 
States,  the  candidate  of  candidates  is  the  hero  of 
Santiago,  the  idol  of  the  Eough  Riders— Colonel 
Theodore  Roosevelt." 

There  were  other  speeches  for  the  candidates, 
and  then  came  the  call  of  the  roll.  The  count 
stood  seven  hundred  and  fifty-three  votes  for 


296  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

Roosevelt  and  two  hundred  and  eighteen  for 
Black.  Judge  Cady,  who  had  placed  Governor 
Black  in  nomination,  immediately  moved  to  make 
the  nomination  of  Colonel  Roosevelt  unanimous, 
and  Senator  Hobart  Krum,  of  Schoharie,  who 
had  been  one  of  Governor  Black's  chief  advisers, 
assured  harmony  in  the  party  by  saying:  "On 
behalf  of  Governor  Black  and  on  behalf  of  every 
delegate  who  voted  for  him  in  this  convention  I 
say  they  will  stand  by  the  nomination  of  Colonel 
Roosevelt,  as  Colonel  Roosevelt  has  stood  by  the 
country.  More  than  that,  we  will  take  the  execu 
tive  chair  for  Colonel  Roosevelt  as  he  took  the 
heights  at  San  Juan."  This  was  very  eloquent, 
but  the  sequel  proved  that  Colonel  Roosevelt  was 
himself  obliged  to  go  into  the  campaign  and  lead 
the  forces  if  he  wished  to  see  victory  perching 
upon  his  banner. 

"When  the  nomination  was  made,  Colonel 
Roosevelt  went  in  to  win  as  he  had  always  done, 
once  he  had  decided  to  make  the  race.  The  cam 
paign  was  as  picturesque  and  as  full  of  surprises 
as  even  the  Gascon  comrades  of  the  hero  of  Las 
Guasimas  could  have  desired.  B.  B.  Odell, 
Chairman  of  the  State  Committee  and  since  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York,  was  opposed  to  Colonel 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  297 

Koosevelt  's  stumping  the  State  in  his  own  behalf. 
But  the  people  wanted  to  see  the  Kough  Eider 
and  refused  to  show  any  enthusiasm  for  other 
speakers.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  if  there 
was  to  be  any  "  rousing  of  the  hosts  "  in  the 
campaign  Colonel  Boosevelt  would  have  to  do 
the  rousing  and  the  consent  of  the  committee  was 
reluctantly  given  for  the  candidate  to  make  a 
tour  of  the  State.  The  meetings  that  followed 
were  a  surprise  to  the  oldest  campaigners.  The 
general  apathy  that  had  existed  in  the  opening 
days  of  the  campaign  changed  to  the  wildest 
enthusiasm.  Colonel  Koosevelt,  by  nature  force 
ful,  direct,  and  theatrical  in  his  manner  and 
method,  went  backward  and  forward,  up  and 
down  New  York,  accompanied  by  a  few  of  his 
Bough  Eiders,  dressed  in  their  khaki  uniforms. 
These  cowboys  made  speeches,  telling  usually 
how  much  they  thought  of  their  Colonel,  and 
recounting  incidents  illustrative  of  his  kindness, 
good-fellowship,  camaraderie  and  brave  deeds. 
The  tour  was  one  of  the  most  successful  political 
ventures  ever  attempted  in  New  York  State,  and 
gave  the  party  managers  a  new  conception  of 
the  man  who  seemed  destined  to  win  in  spite  of 
them.  Colonel  Eoosevelt  was  elected  over 


298  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

Augustus  Van  Wyck,  candidate  on  the  Demo 
cratic  ticket,  and  the  scion  of  another  old  Dutch 
family,  by  a  plurality  of  about  seventeen  thou 
sand  votes. 

In  his  conduct  of  the  governorship  Colonel 
Roosevelt  was  often  at  odds  with  Senator  Platt 
and  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  the  State.  But 
while  he  made  demands  on  them  that  would  have 
caused  active  rebellion  with  a  less  pronounced 
character  in  the  chair,  no  open  breach  occurred 
and  the  Governor  was  able  to  carry  through 
many  measures  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart. 
He  nominated  men  of  his  own  selection  for  the 
Department  of  Public  Works— which  had  been 
the  source  of  great  scandal,— and  for  Adju 
tant-General  and  Surrogate  of  New  York 
county.  These  men  were  selected  for  their 
special  fitness  to  correct  the  evils  in  the  office 
to  which  they  were  appointed,  and  were  given 
the  places  against  the  claims  of  the  party 
leaders '  choice  for  the  same  positions.  Efforts  to 
secure  the  passage  of  a  bill  to  improve  the  Civil 
Service  in  the  State  and  to  change  the  police 
system  in  New  York  city  were  fathered  by  Gov 
ernor  Eoosevelt.  While  president  of  the  Police 
Board  of  that  city  he  had  discovered  that  the 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  299 

legislation  secured  by  the  machine  politicians 
immediately  after  the  new  board  was  appointed 
to  office,  under  the  name  of  the  "bi-partisan"  or 
Lexow  law,  was  designed  to  make  it  difficult  for 
that  board  to  get  effective  action.  It  modeled 
the  government  of  the  police  force  somewhat  on 
the  lines  of  the  Polish  parliament,  providing  for 
a  four-headed  board,  so  that  it  was  difficult  to 
get  a  majority,  anyhow.  "But,"  declares  the 
author  of  "American  Ideals, "  "lest  we  should 
get  such  a  majority,  it  gave  each  member  power 
to  veto  the  actions  of  his  colleagues  in  certain 
very  important  matters ;  and,  lest  we  should  do 
too  much  when  we  were  unanimous,  it  provided 
that  the  chief  of  police,  our  nominal  subordinate, 
should  have  entirely  independent  action  in  the 
most  important  matters,  and  should  be  practi 
cally  irremovable,  except  for  proved  corruption  ; 
so  that  he  was  responsible  to  nobody.  The 
mayor  was  similarly  hindered  from  removing 
any  Police  Commissioner,  so  that  when  one  of 
our  colleagues  began  obstructing  the  work  of  the 
board,  and  thwarting  its  efforts  to  improve  the 
force,  the  mayor  strove  in  vain  to  turn  him  out. 
In  short  there  was  a  complete  divorce  of  power 
and  responsibility,  and  it  was  exceedingly  diffi- 


300  THEODOKE    EOOSEVELT. 

cult  either  to  do  anything,  or  to  place  anywhere 
the  responsibility  for  not  doing  it." 

In  Governor  Roosevelt's  endeavor  to  secure 
legislation  which  should  remedy  this  mistake, 
and  so  further  the  efforts  of  the  Police  Board 
instead  of  being  a  hindrance  to  them,  he  was 
seconded  by  Senator  Platt,  who  pushed  the 
measures,  but  through  the  dereliction  of  Repub 
lican  Senators  the  bills  failed  of  passage.  It  was 
the  hope  that  he  might  work  these  and  other 
important  reforms  that  made  Governor  Roose 
velt  so  anxious  for  a  second  term  and  prompted 
him  to  fight  so  hard  against  being  nominated  for 
the  vice-presidency  later  on.  In  fact  he  declared 
openly  when  that  purpose  was  suggested  that 
he  would  rather  retire  to  private  life  than  to 
be  vice-president,  qualifying  that  statement  by 
saying  "that  he  wished  sincerely  to  be  reflected 
Governor  of  New  York  because  there  were  things 
to  be  done  there  that  he  felt  he  could,  and  ought 
to  do." 

Among  the  achievements  of  Governor  Roose 
velt  while  Governor,  was  that  of  reforming  the 
administration  of  the  canals,  making  the  Canal 
Commission  non-partisan,  and  the  application 
of  the  merit  system  in  county  offices.  But  the 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  301 

measure  that  awakened  the  fiercest  opposition, 
both  without  and  within  his  party,  was  one 
intended  to  make  the  great  corporations  of  the 
State  pay  their  share  of  the  general  taxation. 
By  a  special  message  he  induced  the  legislature 
in  1899,  at  the  end  of  the  session,  to  pass  an  act 
taxing  as  real  estate  the  values  of  railroad  and 
other  franchises  to  use  public  streets.  Corpora 
tions  and  Eepublican  leaders  protested,  but  the 
Governor  said  he  would  sign  the  bill  as  it  stood 
unless  they  could  improve  it  without  destroying 
its  essential  features. 

The  fight  over  this  measure  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  annals  of  legislation. 
Never  was  greater  pressure  brought  to  bear 
upon  a  body  of  men  to  force  them  to  defeat  an 
act  that,  in  its  every  essential,  attempted  to  place 
a  fair  and  honest  division  of  the  burdens  of  the 
State  upon  rich  and  poor  alike.  But  the  great 
corporations  had  so  long,  through  the  use  of 
an  immense  corruption  fund,  been  able  to  escape 
anything  like  just  taxation,  that  an  effort  to 
force  them  to  pay  their  share  for  the  protection 
afforded  them  by  the  Government  seemed  to 
them  like  an  encroachment  on  their  rights.  To 
attempt  the  passage  of  a  bill  that  antagonized  all 


302  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

the  great  corporations  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  more  than  incidentally  threatened  those  of 
all  other  States  through  the  precedent,  if  it 
should  be  established,  required  a  faith  in  his  own 
prowess  seldom  found  in  public  men.  Governor 
Roosevelt  seems  not  only  to  have  had  faith  in 
his  power  to  accomplish  the  needed  legislation 
against  all  the  odds,  but  to  have  resolved  that 
the  legislature  should  not  escape  doing  its  duty. 
^He  called  an  extra  session,  secured  the  passage 
\  of  the  bill  in  a  modified  form,  and  established  the 
principle  of  street  franchise  legislation.  And 
when  the  bill  became  a  law  he  saw  that  it  was 
enforced  so  that  the  State  of  New  York  was 
richer  by  many  millions,  and  the  burdens  of  taxa 
tion  in  a  measure  shifted  from  the  shoulders  of 
the  poor  to  the  pockets  of  the  ricfrf  Governor 
Roosevelt  also  gave^s^yjojtie-TeT[eT»eiit--Com- 
mission  in  its  work  for  the  betterment  of  the  poor 
in  New  York,  and  in  breaking  up  the  sweat-shops 
through  the  rigid  enforcement  of  the  factory  law. 
The  remarkable  popularity  of  Roosevelt  as 
Governor  was  clearly  shown  at  the  time  of  the 
demonstration  in  New  York  in  honor  of  Admiral 
Dewey  in  1899. 

For  a  week  New  York  city  was  the  Mecca  of 


GOVEKNOK  OF  NEW  YOEK.  303 

hero-worshipers.  Enthusiasm  ran  to  a  very 
frenzy  of  patriotic  pride  and  the  gray  old  sailor 
had  his  reward  in  a  nation's  praise.  But  it  was 
observed  that  when  the  brilliant  procession  rep 
resenting  the  army  and  the  navy  had  passed 
along  between  the  walls  of  cheers,  the  sounds 
were  fairly  lost  in  the  shouts  which  burst  from 
thousands  of  throats,  as  from  one,  when  Roose 
velt  passed. 

He  was  dressed  in  the  sober  garments  of  his 
citizenhood,  and  was  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
plumed  and  glittering  warriors  in  front  and  rear. 
But  he  sat  his  brown  horse  with  a  trooper's  ease, 
and  although  he  seemed  to  many  only  a  modest 
and  peaceful  gentleman,  something  stirred,  at 
his  coming,  in  the  hearts  of  the  men  and  women 
along  the  line  of  march— some  emotion,  untrans 
latable  except  by  cheers. 

It  was  the  same  the  day  the  victorious  squad 
ron  sailed  around  New  York  harbor  through  a 
sea  of  dipping  flags.  The  battle-ships  moved  in 
stately  parade  between  saluting  forts.  Multi 
tudes  hurrahed  from  the  shore  and  from  all  man 
ner  of  craft  afloat  in  the  waters.  But  when  a 
certain,  ordinary  East  river  steamer  appeared 
in  line  with  that  black-coated  figure  leaning 


304  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

against  the  rail,  the  Olympia  herself,  with  the 
Admiral  in  full  sight  upon  her  bridge,  could  not 
hold  the  attention  of  the  people. 

"  Koosevelt!  Roosevelt!"  they  cried;  until 
the  Governor  left  his  place  and  went  below  to 
keep  those  loyal  voices  from  unthinking  dis 
courtesy  toward  the  guest. 
NJ  One  quality  which  distinguishes  President 
Roosevelt  from  all  his  predecessors,  except  Lin 
coln,  is  his  keen  and  saving  sense  of  humor. 
There  never  was  a  great  and  solemn  ceremonial 
that  did  not  have  an  element  of  comedy^  And  this 
man  shows  his  delightful  human  side  in  the 
ready  appreciation  he  has  of  a  joke  or  an  absurd 
situation.  Sometimes  this  boyish  desire  to  break 
into  laughter  proves  annoying  to  himself;  but 
his  friends  hold  him  dearer  for  it. 

The  presentation  of  a  golden  loving  cup  from 
the  city  of  New  York  to  the  victor  of  Manila  bay 
was  one  of  the  important  features  of  the  celebra 
tion.  The  morning  following  the  water  carnival, 
and  countless  other  entertainments  in  his  honor, 
found  the  hero  weary  and  the  skies  coldly  gray. 
The  ceremony  was  appointed  for  nine  o'clock 
but  by  seven  a  vast  crowd  had  gathered  and  the 
space  across  from  the  city  hall  was  filled  with 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK.  305 

the  school  children  of  Greater  New  York;  each 
child  with  the  notes  of  "  America  "  caged  in 
its  little  throat  waiting  but  the  signal  to  soar 
away.  From  a  height  by  nine  o  'clock  the  crowd 
looked  like  a  field  of  clover  in  bloom,  set  shiver 
ing  by  a  cold  breeze.  Another  hour  and  a  dreary 
drizzle  had  begun  to  divert  the  attention  of  the 
crowd  as  a  whole,  from  its  aching  feet  to  its 
defenseless  head.  No  one  could  have  gone  home 
had  he  so  desired.  That  concrete  mass  gave  no 
chance  for  individual  independence.  In  their 
flimsy  frocks  the  little  people  still  waited;  but 
the  song  was  in  the  clutch  of  croup,  and  never 
found  its  wings. 

Then  the  waiting  was  over.  Admiral  Dewey 
and  the  gallant  gentlemen  of  his  own  and  other 
fleets  arrived  with  the  great  landsmen,  General 
Nelson  A.  Miles  and  General  Joseph  Wheeler 
and  were  met  by  Governor  Roosevelt  and  Mayor 
Van  Wyck  on  the  platform  over  the  steps  of  the 
city  hall.  All  but  the  mayor  faced  the  crowd. 
That  gentleman,  having  his  speech  to  make  to  the 
hero  of  the  day,  faced  Dewey.  He  drew  the 
manuscript  from  his  pocket;  and  the  moment 
Eoosevelt  saw  its  bulk  a  smile  flickered  over  his 
features,  only  to  be  quickly  suppressed  and 


306  THEODOKE     ROOSEVELT. 

replaced  with  an  expression  in  keeping  with  the 
seriousness  of  the  occasion.  The  Admiral,  more 
fatigued  with  the  honors  than  he  had  been  by  his 
matin  fights  at  sea,  looked  as  bored  and  sheepish 
as  any  bluff  and  valiant  old  soldier  will  when 
he  has  to  stand  and  face  the  music  of  his  own 
praise.  He  gnawed  his  gray  mustache  and 
gazed  ahead  in  nervous  agony.  He  stood  on 
one  foot  and  then  the  other,  and  finally,  as  the 
mayor  read  on  and  on,  the  subject  of  his  elo 
quence  gave  vent  to  a  sigh  so  dejected  and  pro 
found  that  Koosevelt's  face  quivered  again  with 
an  irrepressible  smile.  It  was  plain  that  he  was 
longing  to  laugh  while  he  was  trying  to  repress 
the  inclination.  Then  one  of  those  unfortunate 
incidents  occurred.  A  stranger,  a  spectator,  sud 
denly  caught  his  eyes  and  in  that  glance  he  broke 
down  and  burst  into  a  laughter.  It  was  over  in 
a  minute,  and  by  the  time  the  cup  was  really  in 
the  great  sailor's  hand  the  Governor  was  again 
all  dignity.  But  that  boyish  laugh  in  the  driz 
zle  and  chill  of  that  day  is  a  heartsome  thing  to 
remember. 

^\Colonel  Roosevelt,  as  Governor  of  New  York, 
continued  to  keep  in  the  public  eye,  as  he  had 
always  done  in  every  other  position  he  had  ever 


GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  YORK. 

held  from  the  day  of  his  election  to  the  legislature 
of  his  Dative  State.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  figures  in  the  country  and  his 
admirers  freely  prophesied  for  him  the  highest 
place  in  the  gift  of  the  people.  \ 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ROOSEVELT  IN   CHICAGO. 

(iUEST  OF  HONOR  AT  THE  HAMILTON  CLUB  APPOMATTOX  DAY 
BANQUET— WONDERFUL  MEMORY  SHOWN  IN  HIS  RECOGNITION 
OF  INDIVIDUAL  ROUGH  RIDERS  —  CHARACTERISTIC  INCIDENTS 
OF  THE  MAN  —  FIRST  ENUNCIATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  A 
STRENUOUS  LIFE. 

Governor  Roosevelt 's  executive  abilities  were 
so  clearly  demonstrated  by  his  acts  before  lie  had 
been  a  year  in  the  Governor's  chair  that  he 
became  a  pronounced  factor  in  the  sum  of  presi 
dential  possibilities.  No  slate  was  made  without 
his  name  in  the  list.  President  McKinley  was 
still  the  idol  of  a  great  majority  of  the  people, 
but  the  advocates  of  a  more  virile  administration 
were  not  satisfied  with  his  pacific  measures  and 
turned  naturally  to  the  more  active  and  out 
spoken  Governor  of  New  York.  The  West  was 
anxious  to  see  and  hear  more  of  the  man  who  had 
defied  the  rulers  in  his  own  party  while  clinging 
to  all  the  better  traditions  of  that  party.  It  would 
no  doubt  have  given  great  pleasure  to  the  politi- 


IN  CHICAGO.  309 

cians  of  the  Senator  Platt  school,  had  Governor 
Roosevelt  followed  the  lead  of  Mr.  Curtis,  editor 
of  Harper's  Weekly,  and  other  pronounced 
reformers,  and  gone  into  an  independent  fight 
outside  party  lines.  There  he  would  not  have 
been  so  dangerous  to  their  plans.  But  this  Gov 
ernor  Eoosevelt  declined  to  do.  He  held  that  to 
accomplish  anything  worth  while  a  man  must  be 
connected  with  some  powerful  organization.  If 
the  Republican  party  had  faults,  and  that  it  did 
have  serious  faults  he  had  proven  over  and  over 
again,  he  believed  in  correcting  them,  not  in 
attempting  to  destroy  the  whole  structure. 

At  this  time  the  Hamilton  Club,  of  Chicago, 
resolved  to  answer  the  demand  of  the  middle 
West  to  hear  Governor  Roosevelt,  and  at  the 
same  time  secure  the  honor  of  bringing  him 
prominently  before  the  people  as  a  possible  can 
didate  for  the  presidency.  A  delegation  of  the 
club  was  therefore  sent  to  New  York  to  invite 
Governor  Roosevelt  to  be  the  guest  of  honor  at 
the  Appomattox  Day  banquet,  to  be  given  by  the 
organization  April  10,  1899,  at  the  Auditorium. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  graciously  accepted,  and  named  as 
the  subject  of  his  address  * '  The  Strenuous  Life. ' ' 
The  other  speakers  were  General  John  C.  Black, 


310  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 


i  t.  ri . 


Grant";  Honorable  Even  E.  Settle,  of  Ken 
tucky,  "Lee";  Postmaster-General  Charles 
Emory  Smith,  ' '  The  Union. ' '  The  toast-master 
was  Mr.  Hope  Reed  Cody,  president  of  the  Ham 
ilton  Club.  Preparations  were  made  to  entertain 
the  distinguished  guests  on  a  large  and  sump 
tuous  scale  and  the  banquet  proved  to  be  a  most 
noteworthy  affair. 

Governor  Roosevelt  arrived  in  the  city  on  the 
evening  preceding  the  banquet.  A  committee  of 
the  club  met  his  train  at  Englewood  and  escorted 
the  guest  of  honor  to  the  city.  At  all  the  stations 
along  the  route  the  people  were  gathered  in 
great  numbers  and  the  hero  of  the  Spanish- Amer 
ican  War  was  cheered  to  the  echo  whenever  he 
appeared.  At  the  station  were  hundreds  of  dis 
tinguished  citizens  wearing  Hamilton  Club 
badges,  and  a  special  reception  committee  of  the 
most  representative  citizens  was  awaiting  him. 
There  was  also  a  little  company  of  six  Rough 
Riders,  who  were  then  residents  of  Chicago. 
They  wore  their  faded  khaki  uniforms  that  had 
seen  service  in  Cuba.  They  were  citizens  of  the 
humbler  class  and  were  given  rather  an  incon 
spicuous  place  among  the  more  prosperous  and 
dignified  representatives  of  the  wealthy  clubs 


IN  CHICAGO.  311 

who  were  waiting  to  receive  a  possible  President. 
As  Governor  Eoosevelt  stepped  to  the  platform 
when  the  train  stopped  in  the  station  his  eye 
caught  sight  of  the  dust-stained  uniforms  and 
the  cross  sabers  of  the  First  United  States  Volun 
teer  Cavalry  in  the  campaign  hats  of  his  former 
comrades,  crowded  far  to  the  rear  of  the  waiting 
assembly.  He  waved  his  hand  to  them  and, 
ignoring  the  proffered  cards  of  the  distinguished 
reception  committee,  shouldered  his  way  through 
the  crowd  until  he  could  grasp  the  hands  of  the 
Rough  Eiders.  ' '  How  are  you,  boys  V9  "  Basil, 
old  man,  I'm  glad  to  see  you."  Each  in  turn  he 
called  by  name  and  shook  heartily  by  the  hand. 
He  seemed  quite  content  to  chat  with  them,  for 
getful  of  the  anxious  committees  who  were  wait 
ing  to  escort  him  to  his  carriage  and  through  the 
city.  "Come  over  to  the  Auditorium  and  have 
a  visit,"  he  called  as  he  was  forced  to  turn  away. 
And  later,  in  the  richly  furnished  parlors  of  that 
magnificent  building,  ne  gave  more  attention  to 
those  men,  who  would  have  found  entrance  into 
the  polite  circles  of  Chicago  more  difficult  than 
to  the  blockhouse  atop  of  San  Juan  hill,  than  to 
the  wealthiest  and  most  distinguished  of  his 
admirers. 


312  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

The  banquet  was  one  of  the  largest  ever  given 
in  Chicago.  The  great  Auditorium  theater,  in 
which  it  was  held,  was  a  mass  of  color  and  light. 
The  decorations  were  all  suggestive  of  a  reunited 
union.  President  Hope  Eeed  Cody,  in  introduc 
ing  the  speakers,  said : 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,— Fellow  Americans : 
The  Hamilton  Club  welcomes  you  and  joins  you 
in  extending  most  cordial  greetings  to  our  hon 
ored  guests.  As  an  organization  the  Hamilton 
Club  is  not  ashamed  of  its  partisanship,  but  it  is 
proud  of  its  patriotism.  It  stands  not  for  candi 
dates,  not  for  the  selfish  ambitions  of  any  man, 
but  for  undying  principle.  In  the  past  it  has 
many  times  found  great  pleasure  in  calling 
together  vast  audiences  of  Chicago  citizens,  in 
the  heat  of  bitterly  contested  political  battles,  and 
discussing  with  them  party  policies,  upon  which 
we  could  not  all  agree.  To-night  it  finds  infi 
nitely  greater  pleasure  in  having  brought  to 
gether  this  magnificent  concourse  of  patriotic 
citizens,  knowing  that  to  the  theme  of  this  even 
ing  's  celebration  every  heart  in  this  hall  beats  in 
unison. 

' '  Thirty- four  years  ago  to-night  it  would,  of 
course,  have  been  impossible  for  the  two  sections. 


IN  CHICAGO.  313 

of  the  country  to  join  in  celebrating  Appomattox 
Day,  but  every  day  during  the  past  generation 
the  North  and  the  South  have  been  slowly  but 
surely  coming  closer  and  closer  and  closer 
together,  until  in  the  year  1898  the  attack  of  a 
foreign  enemy  tore  down  the  curtain  of  sectional 
prejudice,  and  disclosed  a  united  country. 

"Thus  is  it  possible  for  us  to-night  to  enter 
tain  side  by  side  at  this  banquet  board,  this  Gen 
eral  of  the  Northern  army  (General  Black),  this 
true  representative  of  the  loyal  South  (Mr.  Set 
tle),  this  statesman  (Mr.  Smith),  member  of  the 
President's  official  family,  representative  here  of 
the  great  patriot  whose  head  and  heart  have  so 
wisely  guided  us  during  the  troublesome  months 
just  past,  the  President  of  these  truly  United 
States,  William  McKinley;  and  this  American 
soldier,  who  was,  during  the  Spanish  War,  the 
most  notable  and  typical  representative  of  the 
united  arn  >  our  honorary  member,  who,  though 
dealing  in  ideals  in  American  politics,  is  ever 
practical,  whose  leadership  the  Hamilton  Club 
delights  to  follow,  Colonel  Eoosevelt,  the  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York." 

No  man  was  ever  given  a  more  enthusiastic 
welcome  than  Governor  Eoosevelt  on  this  occa- 


314  THEODOKE     ROOSEVELT. 

sion.  It  was  fully  twenty  minutes  after  he  arose 
to  speak  before  the  cheering  ceased.  In  his 
address  Mr.  Koosevelt  stated  clearly  his  position 
at  that  time  on  the  questions  that  were  dividing 
the  parties  of  the  country  and  forming  new  com 
binations  in  the  political  world.  At  this  time, 
too,  he  enunciated  the  gospel  of  work  with  which 
his  name  has  since  been  so  closely  associated. 
Mr.  Eoosevelt  spoke  as  follows : 

"In  speaking  to  you,  men  of  the  greatest  city 
of  the  West,  men  of  the  State  which  gave  to  the 
country  Lincoln  and  Grant,  men  who  preemi 
nently  and  distinctly  embody  all  that  is  most 
American  in  the  American  character,  I  wish  to 
preach,  not  the  doctrine  of  ignoble  ease,  but  the 
doctrine  of  the  strenuous  life;  the  life  of  toil 
and  effort ;  of  labor  and  strife ;  to  preach  that 
highest  form  of  success  which  comes,  not  to  the 
man  who  desires  mere  easy  peace,  but  to  the  man 
who  does  not  shrink  from  danger,  from  hardship 
or  from  bitter  toil,  and  who  out  of  these  wins  the 
splendid  ultimate  triumph. 

"A  life  of  ignoble  ease,  a  life  of  that  peace 
which  springs  merely  from  lack  either  of  desire 
or  of  power  to  strive  after  great  things,  is  as 
little  worthy  of  a  nation  as  of  an  individual.  I 


IX   CHICAGO.  315 

ask  only  that  what  every  self-respecting  Ameri 
can  demands  from  himself,  and  from  his  sons, 
shall  be  demanded  of  the  American  nation  as  a 
whole.  Who  among  you  would  teach  your  boys 
that  ease,  that  peace  is  to  be  the  first  considera 
tion  in  their  eyes— to  be  the  ultimate  goal  after 
which  they  strive!  You  men  of  Chicago  have 
made  this  city  great,  you  men  of  Illinois  have 
done  your  share,  and  more  than  your  share,  in 
making  America  great,  because  you  neither 
preach  nor  practice  such  a  doctrine.  You  work 
yourselves,  and  you  bring  up  your  sons  to  work. 
If  you  are  rich  and  are  worth  your  salt,  you  will 
teach  your  sons  that  though  they  may  have 
leisure,  it  is  not  to  be  spent  in  idleness;  for 
wisely  used  leisure  merely  means  that  those  who 
possess  it,  being  free  from  the  necessity  of  work 
ing  for  their  livelihood,  are  all  the  more  bound 
to  carry  on  some  kind  of  non-remunerative  work 
in  science,  in  letters,  in  art,  in  exploration,  in 
historical  research— work  of  the  type  we  most 
need  in  this  country,  the  successful  carrying  out 
of  which  reflects  most  honor  upon  the  nation. 
We  do  not  admire  the  man  of  timid  peace.  We 
admire  the  man  who  embodies  victorious  effort ; 
the  man  who  never  wrongs  his  neighbor ;  who  is 


316  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

prompt  to  help  a  friend;  but  who  has  those 
virile  qualities  necessary  to  win  in  the  stern 
strife  of  actual  life.  It  is  hard  to  fail ;  but  it  is 
worse  never  to  have  tried  to  succeed.  In  this 
life  we  get  nothing  save  by  effort.  Freedom 
from  effort  in  the  present,  merely  means  that 
there  has  been  stored  up  effort  in  the  past.  A 
man  can  be  freed  from  the  necessity  of  work  only 
by  the  fact  that  he  or  his  fathers  before  him 
have  worked  to  good  purpose.  If  the  freedom 
thus  purchased  is  used  aright,  and  the  man  still 
does  actual  work,  though  of  a  different  kind, 
whether  as  a  writer  or  a  general,  whether  in  the 
field  of  politics  or  in  the  field  of  exploration  and 
adventure,  he  shows  he  deserves  his  good  for 
tune.  But  if  he  treats  this  period  of  freedom 
from  the  need  of  actual  labor  as  a  period  not  of 
preparation,  but  of  mere  enjoyment,  even  though 
perhaps  not  of  vicious  enjoyment,  he  shows  that 
he  is  simply  a  cumberer  on  the  earth 's  surface ; 
and  he  surely  unfits  himself  to  hold  his  own 
with  his  fellows,  if  the  need  to  do  so  should  again 
arise.  A  mere  life  of  ease  is  not  in  the  end  a 
very  satisfactory  life,  and,  above  all,  it  is  a  life 
which  ultimately  unfits  those  who  follow  it  for 
serious  work  in  the  world. 


IN   CHICAGO.  317 

"  As  it  is  with  the  individual,  so  it  is  with  the 
nation.  It  is  a  base  untruth  to  say  that  happy  is 
the  nation  that  has  no  history.  Thrice  happy  is 
the  nation  that  has  a  glorious  history.  Far  better 
it  is  to  dare  mighty  things,  to  win  glorious 
triumphs,  even  though  checkered  by  failure,  than 
to  take  rank  with  those  poor  spirits  who  neither 
enjoy  much  nor  suffer  much,  because  they  live  in 
the  gray  twilight  that  knows  neither  victory  nor 
defeat.  If  in  1861  the  men  who  loved  the  Union 
had  believed  that  peace  was  the  end  of  all  things, 
and  war  and  strife  the  worst  of  all  things,  and 
had  acted  up  to  their  belief,  we  would  have  saved 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives ;  we  would  have 
saved  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars.  More 
over,  besides  saving  all  the  blood  and  treasure 
we  then  lavished,  we  would  have  prevented  the 
heart-break  of  many  women,  the  dissolution  of 
many  homes;  and  we  would  have  spared  the 
country  those  months  of  gloom  and  shame,  when 
it  seemed  as  if  our  armies  marched  only  to  defeat. 
We  could  have  avoided  all  this  suffering  simply 
by  shrinking  from  strife.  And  if  we  had  thus 
avoided  it  we  would  have  shown  that  we  were 
weaklings,  and  that  we  were  unfit  to  stand  among 
the  great  nations  of  the  earth.  Thank  God  for 


318  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

the  iron  in  the  blood  of  our  fathers,  the  men  who 
upheld  the  wisdom  of  Lincoln  and  bore  sword  or 
rifle  in  the  armies  of  Grant !  Let  us,  the  children 
of  the  men  who  proved  themselves  equal  to  the 
mighty  days— let  us,  the  children  of  the  men  who 
carried  the  great  Civil  War  to  a  triumphant  con 
clusion,  praise  the  God  of  our  fathers  that  the 
ignoble  counsels  of  peace  were  rejected ;  that  the 
suffering  and  loss,  the  blackness  or  sorrow  and 
despair,  were  unflinchingly  faced,  and  the  years 
of  strife  endured;  for  in  the  end  the  slave  was 
freed,  the  Union  restored,  and  the  mighty  Amer 
ican  Eepublic  placed  once  more  as  a  helmeted 
queen  among  nations. 

1 '  We  of  this  generation  do  not  have  to  face  a 
task  such  as  that  our  fathers  faced,  but  we  have 
our  tasks,  and  woe  to  us  if  we  fail  to  perform 
them.  We  cannot,  if  we  would,  play  the  part  of 
China,  and  be  content  to  rot  by  inches  in  ignoble 
ease  within  our  borders,  taking  no  interest  in 
what  goes  on  beyond  them ;  sunk  in  a  scrambling 
commercialism;  heedless  of  the  higher  life,  the 
life  of  aspiration,  of  toil  and  risk ;  busying  our 
selves  only  with  the  wants  of  our  bodies  for  the 
day;  until  suddenly  we  should  find,  beyond  a 
shadow  of  question,  what  China  has  already 


IN  CHICAGO.  319 

found,  that  in  this  world  the  nation  that  has 
trained  itself  to  a  career  of  unwarlike  and  iso 
lated  ease  is  bound  in  the  end  to  go  down  before 
other  nations  which  have  not  lost  the  manly  and 
adventurous  qualities.  If  we  are  to  be  a  really 
great  people,  we  must  strive  in  good  faith  to 
play  a  great  part  in  the  world.  We  cannot  avoid 
meeting  great  issues.  All  that  we  can  determine 
for  ourselves  is  whether  we  shall  meet  them  well 
or  ill.  Last  year  we  could  not  help  being  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  problem  of  war  with  Spain. 
All  we  could  decide  was  whether  we  should 
shrink  like  cowards  from  the  contest,  or  enter  into 
it  as  beseemed  a  brave  and  high-spirited  people  ; 
and,  once  in,  whether  failure  or  success  should 
crown  our  banners.  So  it  is  now.  We  cannot 
avoid  the  responsibilities  that  confront  us  in 
Hawaii,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines. 
All  we  can  decide  is  whether  we  shall  meet  them 
in  a  way  that  will  redound  to  the  national  credit, 
or  whether  we  shall  make  of  our  dealings  with 
these  new  problems  a  dark  and  shameful  page 
in  our  history.  To  refuse  to  deal  with  them  at  all 
merely  amounts  to  dealing  with  them  badly. 
We  have  a  given  problem  to  solve.  If  we  under 
take  the  solution,  there  is  of  course,  always  dan- 


320  THEODORE     EOOSEVELT. 

ger  that  we  may  not  solve  it  aright ;  but  to  refuse 
to  undertake  the  solution  simply  renders  it  cer 
tain  that  we  cannot  possibly  solve  it  aright.  The 
timid  man,  the  lazy  man,  the  man  who  distrusts 
his  country,  the  over-civilized  man,  who  has  lost 
the  great  fighting,  masterful  virtues,  the  ignorant 
man  and  the  man  of  dull  mind,  whose  soul  is 
incapable  of  feeling  the  mighty  lift  that  thrills 
" stern  men  with  empires  in  their  brains"— all 
these,  of  course,  shrink  from  seeing  the  nation 
undertake  its  new  duties ;  shrink  from  seeing  us 
build  a  navy  and  army  adequate  to  our  needs; 
shrink  from  seeing  us  do  our  share  of  the  world's 
work,  by  bringing  order  out  of  chaos  in  the  great, 
fair  tropic  islands  from  which  the  valor  of  our 
soldiers  and  sailors  has  driven  the  Spanish  flag. 
These  are  the  men  who  fear  the  strenuous  life, 
who  fear  the  only  national  life  which  is  really 
worth  leading.  They  believe  in  that  cloistered 
life  which  saps  the  hardy  virtues  in  a  nation, 
as  it  saps  them  in  the  individual;  or  else  they 
are  wedded  to  that  base  spirit  of  gain  and  greed 
which  recognizes  in  commercialism  the  be-all  and 
end-all  of  national  life,  instead  of  realizing  that, 
though  an  indispensable  element,  it  is  after  all 
but  one  of  the  many  elements  that  go  to  make  up 


IN  CHICAGO.  321 

true  national  greatness.  No  country  can  long 
endure  if  its  foundations  are  not  laid  deep  in  the 
material  prosperity  which  comes  from  thrift, 
from  business  energy  and  enterprise,  from  hard 
unsparing  effort  in  the  fields  of  industrial  activ 
ity;  but  neither  was  any  nation  ever  yet  truly 
great  if  it  relied  upon  material  prosperity  alone. 
All  honor  must  be  paid  to  the  architects  of  our 
material  prosperity;  to  the  great  captains  of 
industry  who  have  built  our  factories  and  our 
railroads ;  to  the  strong  men  who  toil  for  wealth 
with  brain  or  hand ;  for  great  is  the  debt  of  the 
nation  to  these  and  their  kind.  But  our  debt  is 
yet  greater  to  the  men  whose  highest  type  is  to 
be  found  in  a  statesman  like  Lincoln,  a  soldier 
like  Grant.  They  showed  by  their  lives  that  they 
recognized  the  law  of  work,  the  law  of  strife; 
they  toiled  to  win  a  competence  for  themselves 
and  those  dependent  upon  them ;  but  they  recog 
nized  that  there  were  yet  other  and  even  loftier 
duties— duties  to  the  nation  and  duties  to  the 
race. 

"We  cannot  sit  huddled  within  our  own  bor 
ders  and  avow  ourselves  merely  an  assemblage 
of  well-to-do  hucksters  who  care  nothing  for  what 
happens  beyond.  Such  a  policy  would  defeat 


322  THEODOBE    KOOSEVELT. 

even  its  own  end ;  for  as  the  nations  grow  to  have 
ever  wider  and  wider  interests  and  are  brought 
into  closer  and  closer  contact,  if  we  are  to  hold 
our  own  in  the  struggle  for  naval  and  commercial 
supremacy,  we  must  build  up  our  power  without 
our  own  borders.  We  must  build  the  Isthmian 
canal,  and  we  must  grasp  the  points  of  vantage 
which  will  enable  us  to  have  our  say  in  deciding 
the  destiny  of  the  oceans  of  the  East  and  the 
West. 

"So  much  for  the  commercial  side.  From 
the  standpoint  of  international  honor,  the  argu 
ment  is  even  stronger.  The  guns  that  thundered 
off  Manila  and  Santiago  left  us  echoes  of  glory, 
but  they  also  left  us  a  legacy  of  duty.  If  we 
drove  out  a  mediaeval  tyranny  only  to  make  room 
for  savage  anarchy,  we  had  better  not  have  begun 
the  task  at  all.  It  is  worse  than  idle  to  say  that 
we  have  no  duty  to  perform  and  can  leave  to  their 
fates  the  islands  we  have  conquered.  Such  a 
course  would  be  the  course  of  infamy.  It  would 
be  followed  at  once  by  utter  chaos  in  the  wretched 
islands  themselves.  Some  stronger,  manlier 
power  would  have  to  step  in  and  do  the  work; 
and  we  would  have  shown  ourselves  weaklings, 
unable  to  carry  to  successful  completion  the 


IN  CHICAGO.  323 

labors  that  great  and  high-spirited  nations  are 
eager  to  undertake. 

"The  work  must  be  done.  We  cannot  escape 
our  responsibility,  and  if  we  are  worth  our  salt, 
we  shall  be  glad  of  the  chance  to  do  the  work- 
glad  of  the  chance  to  show  ourselves  equal  to  one 
of  the  great  tasks  set  modern  civilization.  But 
let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  as  to  the  importance 
of  the  task.  Let  us  not  be  misled  by  vainglory 
into  underestimating  the  strain  it  will  put  on  our 
powers.  Above  all,  let  us,  as  we  value  our  own 
self-respect,  face  the  responsibilities  with  proper 
seriousness,  courage  and  high  resolve.  We  must 
demand  the  highest  order  of  integrity  and  abil 
ity  in  our  public  men  who  are  to  grapple  with 
these  new  problems.  We  must  hold  to  a  rigid 
accountability  those  public  servants  who  show 
unfaithfulness  to  the  interests  of  the  nation  or 
inability  to  rise  to  the  high  level  of  the  new 
demands  upon  our  strength  and  our  resources. 

"Of  course,  we  must  remember  not  to  judge 
any  public  servant  by  any  one  act,  and  especially 
should  we  beware  of  attacking  the  men  who  are 
merely  the  occasions  and  not  the  causes  of  disas 
ter.  Let  me  illustrate  what  I  mean  by  the  army 
and  the  navy.  If  twenty  years  ago  we  had  gone 


324  THEODOKE    EOOSEVELT. 

to  war,  we  should  have  found  the  navy  as  abso 
lutely  unprepared  as  the  army.  At  that  time  our 
ships  could  not  have  encountered  with  success 
the  fleets  of  Spain  any  more  than  nowadays  we 
can  put  untrained  soldiers,  no  matter  how  brave, 
who  are  armed  with  archaic  black  powder  wea 
pons  against  well-drilled  regulars  armed  with 
the  highest  type  of  modern  repeating  rifle.  But 
in  the  early  80 's  the  attention  of  the  nation 
became  directed  to  our  naval  needs.  Congress 
most  wisely  made  a  series  of  appropriations  to 
build  up  a  new  navy,  and  under  a  succession  of 
able  and  patriotic  secretaries,  of  both  political 
parties,  the  navy  was  gradually  built  up,  until 
its  material  became  equal  to  its  splendid  person 
nel,  with  the  result  that  last  summer  it  leaped  to 
its  proper  place  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and 
formidable  fighting  navies  in  the  entire  world. 
We  rightly  pay  all  honor  to  the  men  controlling 
the  navy  at  the  time  it  won  these  great  deeds, 
honor  to  Secretary  Long  and  Admiral  Dewey, 
to  the  captains  who  handled  the  ships  in  action, 
to  the  daring  lieutenants  who  braved  death  in 
the  smaller  craft,  and  to  the  heads  of  bureaus  at 
Washington  who  saw  that  the  ships  were  so 
commanded,  so  armed,  so  equipped,  so  well 


IN  CHICAGO.  325 

engined,  as  to  insure  the  best  results.  But  let 
us  also  keep  ever  in  mind  that  all  of  this  would 
not  have  availed  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  wis 
dom  of  the  men  who  during  the  preceding  fif 
teen  years  had  built  up  the  navy.  Keep  in  mind 
the  secretaries  of  the  navy  during  those  years; 
keep  in  mind  the  Senators  and  Congressmen  who 
by  their  votes  gave  the  money  necessary  to  build 
and  to  armor  the  ships,  to  construct  the  great 
guns,  and  to  train  the  crews;  remember  also 
those  who  actually  did  build  the  ships,  the 
armor  and  the  guns;  and  remember  the  admi 
rals  and  captains  who  handled  battle-ship,  cruiser 
and  torpedo-boat  on  the  high  seas,  alone  and  in 
squadrons,  developing  the  seamanship,  the  gun 
nery  and  the  power  of  acting  together,  which 
their  successors  utilized  so  gloriously  at  Manila 
and  off  Santiago.  And,  gentlemen,  remember 
the  converse,  too.  Remember  that  justice  has 
two  sides.  Be  just  to  those  who  built  up  the 
navy,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  future  of  the  coun 
try,  keep  in  mind  those  who  opposed  its  building 
up.  Read  the  Congressional  Record.  Find  out 
the  Senators  and  Congressmen  who  opposed  the 
grants  for  building  the  new  ships,  who  opposed 
the  purchase  of  armor,  without  which  the  ships 


326  THEODOBE    KOOSEVELT. 

were  worthless;  who  opposed  any  adequate 
maintenance  for  the  navy  department,  and  strove 
to  cut  down  the  number  of  men  necessary  to  man 
our  fleets.  The  men  who  did  these  things  were 
one  and  all  working  to  bring  disaster  on  the 
country.  They  have  no  share  in  the  glory  of 
Manila,  in  the  honor  of  Santiago.  They  have  no 
cause  to  feel  proud  of  the  valor  of  our  sea  cap 
tains,  of  the  renown  of  our  flag.  Their  motives 
may  or  may  not  have  been  good,  but  their  acts 
were  heavily  fraught  with  evil.  They  did  ill  for 
the  national  honor ;  and  we  won  in  spite  of  their 
sinister  opposition. 

"Now,  apply  all  this  to  our  public  men  of 
to-day.  Our  army  has  never  been  built  up  as  it 
should  be  built  up.  I  shall  not  discuss  with  an 
audience  like  this  the  puerile  suggestion  that  a 
nation  of  seventy  millions  of  freemen  is  in  dan 
ger  of  losing  its  liberties  from  the  existence  of 
an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  three- 
fourths  of  whom  will  be  employed  in  certain  for 
eign  islands,  in  certain  coast  fortresses,  and  on 
Indian  reservations.  No  man  of  good  sense  and 
stout  heart  can  take  such  a  proposition  seriously. 
If  we  are  such  weaklings  as  the  proposition 
implies,  then  we  are  unworthy  of  freedom  in  any 


IN  CHICAGO.  327 

event.  To  no  body  of  men  in  the  United  States  is 
the  country  so  much  indebted  as  to  the  splendid 
officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the  regular  army  and 
navy;  there  is  no  body  from  which  the  country 
has  less  to  fear;  and  none  of  which  it  should  be 
prouder,  none  which  it  should  be  more  anxious 
to  upbuild. 

"Our  army  needs  complete  reorganization— 
not  merely  enlarging— and  the  reorganization 
can  only  come  as  the  result  of  legislation.  A 
proper  general  staff  should  be  established,  and 
the  positions  of  ordnance,  commissary  and  quar 
termaster  officers  should  be  filled  by  detail  from 
the  line.  Above  all,  the  army  must  be  given  the 
chance  to  exercise  in  large  bodies.  Never  again 
should  we  see,  as  we  saw  in  the  Spanish  War, 
major-generals  in  command  of  divisions,  who 
nad  never  before  commanded  three  companies  to 
gether  in  the  field.  Yet  incredible  to  relate,  the 
recent  Congress  has  showed  a  queer  inability  to 
learn  some  of  the  lessons  of  the  war.  There  were 
large  bodies  of  men  in  both  branches  who  op 
posed  the  declaration  of  war,  who  opposed  the 
ratification  of  peace,  who  opposed  the  upbuilding 
of  the  army,  and  who  even  opposed  the  purchase 
of  armor  at  a  reasonable  price  for  the  battle-ships 


328  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

and  cruisers,  thereby  putting  an  absolute  stop  to 
the  building  of  any  new  fighting  ships  for  the 
navy.  If  during  the  years  to  come  any  disaster 
should  befall  our  arms,  afloat  or  ashore,  and 
thereby  any  shame  come  to  the  United  States, 
remember  that  the  blame  will  lie  upon  the  men 
whose  names  appear  upon  the  roll-calls  of  Con 
gress  on  the  wrong  side  of  these  great  questions. 
On  them  will  lie  the  burden  of  any  loss  of  our  sol 
diers  and  sailors,  of  any  dishonor  to  the  flag ;  and 
upon  you  and  the  people  of  this  country  will  lie 
the  blame,  if  you  do  not  repudiate,  in  no  unmis 
takable  way,  what  these  men  have  done.  The 
blame  will  not  rest  upon  the  untrained  com 
mander  of  untried  troops ;  upon  the  civil  officers 
of  a  department,  the  organization  of  which  has 
been  left  utterly  inadequate ;  or  upon  the  admi 
ral  with  insufficient  number  of  ships;  but  upon 
the  public  men  who  have  so  lamentably  failed  in 
forethought  as  to  refuse  to  remedy  these  evils 
long  in  advance,  and  upon  the  nation  that  stands 
behind  those  public  men. 

"So  at  the  present  hour  no  small  share  of 
the  responsibility  for  the  bloodshed  in  the  Phil 
ippines,  the  blood  of  our  brothers,  and  the  blood 
of  their  wild  and  ignorant  foes,  lies  at  the  thresh- 


IN  CHICAGO.  329 

olds  of  those  who  so  long  delayed  the  adoption 
of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  of  those  who  by  their 
worse  than  foolish  words  deliberately  invited  a 
savage  people  to  plunge  into  a  war  fraught  with 
sure  disaster  for  them ;  a  war,  too,  in  which  our 
own  brave  men  who  follow  the  flag  must  pay 
with  their  blood  for  the  silly,  mock-humanita- 
rianism  of  the  prattlers  who  sit  at  home  in  peace. 
"The  army  and  the  navy  are  the  sword  and 
the  shield  which  this  nation  must  carry,  if  she 
is  to  do  her  duty  among  the  nations  of  the  earth 
—if  she  is  not  to  stand  merely  as  the  China  of 
the  Western  Hemisphere.  Our  proper  conduct 
toward  the  tropic  islands  we  have  wrested  from 
Spain  is  merely  the  form,  which  our  duty  has 
taken  at  the  moment.  Of  course,  we  are  bound 
to  handle  the  affairs  of  our  own  household  well. 
We  must  see  that  there  is  civic  honesty,  civic 
cleanliness,  civic  good  sense  in  our  home  admin 
istration  of  city,  State  and  nation.  We  must 
strive  for  honesty  in  office,  for  honesty  toward 
the  creditors  of  the  nation  and  of  the  individual ; 
for  the  wisest  freedom  of  individual  initiative 
where  possible,  and  for  the  wisest  control  of  indi 
vidual  initiative  where  it  is  hostile  to  the  welfare 
of  the  many.  But  because  we  set  our  own  house- 


330  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

hold  in  order,  we  are  not  thereby  excused  from 
playing  our  part  in  the  great  affairs  of  the  world. 
A  man's  first  duty  is  to  his  own  home,  but  he  is 
not  thereby  excused  from  doing  his  duty  to  the 
State;  for  if  he  fails  in  this  second  duty  it  is 
under  the  penalty  of  ceasing  to  be  a  freeman.  In 
the  same  way,  while  a  nation's  first  duty  is  within 
its  own  borders,  it  is  not  thereby  absolved  from 
facing  its  duties  in  the  world  as  a  whole ;  and  if 
it  refuses  to  do  so,  it  merely  forfeits  its  right  to 
struggle  for  a  place  among  the  peoples  that  shape 
the  destiny  of  mankind. 

"In  the  West  Indies  and  the  Philippines  alike 
we  are  confronted  by  most  difficult  problems.  It 
is  cowardly  to  shrink  from  solving  them  in  the 
proper  way ;  for  solved  they  must  be,  if  not  by 
us,  then  by  some  stronger  and  more  manful  race ; 
if  we  are  too  weak,  too  selfish  or  too  foolish  to 
solve  them,  some  bolder  and  abler  people  must 
undertake  the  solution.  Personally  I  am  far  too 
firm  a  believer  in  fhe  greatness  of  my  country 
and  the  power  of  my  countrymen  to  admit  for 
one  moment  that  we  shall  ever  be  driven  to  the 
ignoble  alternative. 

"The  problems  are  different  for  the  different 
islands.  Porto  Rico  is  not  large  enough  to  stand 


IN  CHICAGO.  331 

alone.  We  must  govern  it  wisely  and  well,  pri 
marily  in  the  interest  of  its  own  people.  Cuba  is, 
in  my  judgment,  entitled  ultimately  to  settle  for 
itself  whether  it  shall  be  an  independent  state 
or  an  integral  portion  of  the  mightiest  of  repub 
lics.  But  until  order  and  stable  liberty  are 
secured,  we  must  remain  in  the  island  to  insure 
them;  and  infinite  tact,  judgment,  moderation 
and  courage  must  be  shown  by  our  military  and 
civil  representatives  in  keeping  the  island  paci 
fied,  in  relentlessly  stamping  out  brigandage,  in 
protecting  all  alike,  and  yet  in  showing  proper 
recognition  to  the  men  who  have  fought  for 
Cuban  liberty.  The  Philippines  offer  a  yet 
graver  problem.  Their  population  includes 
half-caste  and  native  Christians,  warlike  Mos 
lems,  and  wild  pagans.  Many  of  their  people 
are  utterly  unfit  for  self-government  and  show 
no  signs  of  becoming  fit.  Others  may  in  time 
become  fit,  but  at  present  can  only  take  part  in 
self-government  under  a  wise  supervision  at 
once  firm  and  beneficent.  We  have  driven  Span 
ish  tyranny  from  the  islands.  If  we  now  let  it 
be  replaced  by  savage  anarchy,  our  work  has  been 
for  harm  and  not  for  good.  I  have  scant  patience 
with  those  who  fear  to  undertake  the  task  of  gov- 


332  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

erning  the  Philippines,  and  who  openly  avow 
that  they  do  fear  to  undertake  it,  or  that  they 
shrink  from  it  because  of  the  expense  and  trou 
ble  ;  but  I  have  even  scanter  patience  with  those 
who  make  a  pretense  of  humanitarianism  to  hide 
and  cover  their  timidity,  and  who  cant  about 
'liberty'  and  the  'consent  of  the  governed,'  in 
order  to  excuse  themselves  for  their  unwilling 
ness  to  play  the  part  of  men.  Their  doctrines  if 
carried  out  would  make  it  incumbent  upon  us  to 
leave  the  Apaches  of  Arizona  to  work  out  their 
own  salvation  and  to  decline  to  interfere  in  a 
single  Indian  reservation.  Their  doctrines  con 
demn  your  forefathers  and  mine  for  ever  having 
settled  in  these  United  States. 

' '  England 's  rule  in  India  and  Egypt  has  been 
of  great  benefit  to  England,  for  it  has  trained  up 
generations  of  men  accustomed  to  look  at  the 
larger  and  loftier  side  of  public  life.  It  has  been 
of  even  greater  benefit  to  India  and  Egypt.  And 
finally  and  most  of  all,  it  has  advanced  the  cause 
of  civilization.  So,  if  we  do  our  duty  aright  in 
the  Philippines,  we  will  add  to  that  national 
renown  which  is  the  highest  and  finest  part  of 
national  life ;  will  greatly  benefit  the  people  of 
the  Philippine  Islands ;  and  above  all  we  will  play 


IN  CHICAGO. 


333 


our  part  well  in  the  great  work  of  uplifting  man 
kind.  But  to  do  this  work,  keep  ever  in  mind  that 
we  must  show  in  a  very  high  degree  the  qualities 
of  courage,  of  honesty,  and  of  good  judgment. 
Resistance  must  be  stamped  out.  The  first  and 
all-important  work  to  he  done  is  to  establish  the 
supremacy  of  our  flag.  We  must  put  down  armed 
resistance  before  we  can  accomplish  anything 
else,  and  there  should  be  no  parleying,  no  falter 
ing  in  dealing  with  our  foe.  As  for  those  in  our 
own  country  who  encourage  the  foe,  we  can 
afford  contemptuously  to  disregard  them;  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  their  utterances  are 
saved  from  being  treasonable  merely  from  the 
fact  that  they  are  despicable. 

"When  once  we  have  put  down  armed  resist 
ance,  when  once  our  rule  is  acknowledged,  then 
an  even  more  difficult  task  will  begin,  for  then 
we  must  see  to  it  that  the  islands  are  adminis 
tered  with  absolute  honesty  and  with  good  judg 
ment.  If  we  let  the  public  service  of  the  islands 
be  turned  into  the  prey  of  the  spoils  politician, 
we  shall  have  begun  to  tread  the  path  which 
Spain  trod  to  her  own  destruction.  We  must 
send  out  there  only  good  and  able  men,  chosen 
for  their  fitness  and  not  because  of  their  partisan 


334  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

service,  and  these  men  must  not  only  administer 
impartial  justice  to  the  natives  and  serve  their 
own  government  with  honesty  and  fidelity,  but 
must  show  the  utmost  tact  and  firmness,  remem 
bering  that  with  such  people  as  those  with  whom 
we  are  to  deal,  weakness  is  the  greatest  of  crimes, 
and  that  next  to  weakness  comes  lack  of  consid 
eration  for  their  principles  and  prejudices. 

"I  preach  to  you,  then,  my  countrymen,  that 
our  country  calls  not  for  the  life  of  ease,  but  for 
the  life  of  strenuous  endeavor.  The  twentieth 
century  looms  before  us  big  with  the  fate  of  many 
nations.  If  we  stand  idly  by,  if  we  seek  merely 
swollen,  slothful  ease,  and  ignoble  peace,  if  we 
shrink  from  the  hard  contests  where  men  must 
win  at  hazard  of  their  lives  and  at  the  risk  of  all 
they  hold  dear,  then  the  bolder  and  stronger  peo 
ples  will  pass  us  by  and  will  win  for  themselves 
the  domination  of  the  world.  Let  us  therefore 
boldly  face  the  life  of  strife,  resolute  to  do  our 
duty  well  and  manfully;  resolute  to  uphold 
righteousness  by  deed  and  by  word ;  resolute  to 
be  both  honest  and  brave,  to  serve  high  ideals, 
yet  to  use  practical  methods.  Above  all,  let  us 
shrink  from  no  strife,  moral  or  physical,  within 
or  without  the  nation,  provided  we  are  certain 


IN  CHICAGO.  335 

that  the  strife  is  justified ;  for  it  is  only  through 
strife,  through  hard  and  dangerous  endeavor, 
that  we  shall  ultimately  win  the  goal  of  true 
national  greatness." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

HONORS  THRUST  UPON  HIM. 

NOMINATED  FOR  VICE-PRESIDENT  AGAINST  HIS  EMPHATIC  PRO 
TEST—SINKS  PERSONAL  PREFERENCE  AT  THE  CALL  OF  PUBLIC 
DUTY— STRIKING  FIGURE  IN  THE  CAMPAIGN— PRESIDING  OVER 
THE  SENATE— SEEKS  RECREATION  IN  A  POST-ELECTION  HUNT 
FOR  MOUNTAIN  LIONS. 

Man  does  not  always  dispose  of  his  life  as  he 
wills.  Governor  Roosevelt,  at  the  executive  man 
sion  at  Albany,  was  in  precisely  the  position  he 
desired.  From  the  beginning  of  his  political 
career  he  had  protested  against  the  abuses  that 
existed  in  administration  of  affairs.  He  had 
exerted  all  his  powers,  in  each  position  occupied, 
to  impress  the  people  of  his  State  with  the  wis 
dom  of  obeying  the  laws.  It  was  not  the  low 
offenders  against  petty  restrictive  measures  that 
offered  menace  to  the  commonweal ;  but  those  in 
enviable  station— men  to  whom  much  had  been 
given,  and  of  whom  the  people  had  a  right  to 
expect  much  in  the  way  of  justice  and  of  right. 
As  legislator,  as  police  commissioner,  as  expo- 


HONOKS   THEUST   UPON   HIM.  337 

nent  of  the  merit  system  under  national  appoint 
ment,  and  in  successive  campaigns,  his  effort  had 
always  been  for  a  reform  in  the  public  service  of 
his  State.  Wherever  his  activities  were  em 
ployed  he  had  been  handicapped  by  the  opposi 
tion  of  forces  from  which  he  had  a  right  to  expect 
assistance.  He  had  been  hampered  by  the  inertia 
of  a  system  which  all  men  conceded  was  bad,  but 
which  few  men  in  politics  dared  to  see  corrected. 
As  Governor  of  New  York  State  he  was  in  a 
position  to  put  his  reforms  into  practice.  He 
had  the  power  which  he  had  lacked  before.  He 
was  the  dictator  of  the  situation.  Four  years  as 
chief  executive  of  the  Empire  State  would,  it 
may  confidently  be  assumed,  have  resulted  in 
such  a  purification  of  public  morals,  such  a 
reformation  in  official  conduct,  as  the  great  Re 
public  has  never  known.  No  one  knew  better 
than  he  the  men  and  the  forces  against  which  he 
would  have  to  contend,  and  it  is  not  likely  there 
was  another  man  in  the  State  so  well  equipped 
for  that  struggle  as  he  was.  It  was— at  least  for 
that  time— the  goal  toward  which  all  his  training 
and  his  effort  had  been  tending.  It  was  the  work 
which  he  had  all  his  life  been  trying  to  do,  and 
it  would  probably  have  proven  of  greater  benefit 


338  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

to  the  nation,  as  illustrating  sensible  and  substan 
tial  reform,  than  any  other  man  could  have  con 
tributed.  It  had  been  particularly  gratifying  to 
him,  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Spain,  to  know 
that  the  people  of  his  native  State  turned  to  him 
with  the  demand  that  he  take  charge  of  their 
public  affairs  as  Governor;  and  it  was  with 
regret  that  he  heard  the  premonitory  summons 
to  a  higher  but  less  useful  office.  As  the  time  for 
the  national  Republican  convention  of  1900 
approached,  speculation  regarding  the  ticket  to 
be  chosen  was  simplified.  For  first  place  but  one 
name  was  commonly  considered.  President 
McKinley  was  to  be  given  a  second  term.  As  to 
the  choice  for  Yice-President,  the  politicians 
canvassed  the  chances  of  this  man  and  of  that 
man— but  the  people  spoke  with  an  increasing 
assertiveness  for  Theodore  Koosevelt. 

Something  of  the  man's  good  fortune  was 
again  revealed  in  the  situation.  The  "geograph 
ical  consideration"  was  satisfied  in  his  selection. 
Mr.  McKinley  was  from  the  West— for  Ohio  is 
* '  west"  to  the  dwellers  in  Atlantic  States.  What 
would  have  been  the  result  if  both  had  been  from 
the  same  section  cannot  be  conjectured.  But  he 
was  at  the  same  time  at  odds  with  fortune  regard- 


HONORS   THRUST    UPON    HIM.  339 

ing  another  consideration  always  of  moment  in 
the  making  of  a  ticket.  He  was  by  no  means 
a  rich  man.  It  must  not  he  supposed  that  he 
was  a  man  of  fallen  fortunes,  or  that  the  estate 
which  had  come  to  him  through  generations  of 
thrifty  ancestors  had  been  dissipated.  That  was 
not  the  case.  Yet  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Roosevelts  had  never  been  among  the  magnates 
of  the  community.  They  had  accumulated,  but 
they  had  also  enjoyed  their  wealth,  and  had 
always  done  good  with  it.  There  were  scores  of 
families  in  New  York  twenty  times  as  rich  as 
Theodore  Eoosevelt ;  and  ordinarily  at  least  one 
man  of  wealth  has  been  regarded  as  necessary 
on  the  national  ticket. 

Here,  then,  were  objections  of  his  own,  and 
other  objections  which  his  party  friends  were 
urging,  all  against  his  selection  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Vice-Presidency.  Of  course  the  fact  of 
geography  or  of  inadequate  wealth  were  of  small 
moment  to  him.  If  he  had  desired  the  place,  he 
would  have  announced  that  desire,  and  have 
striven  for  it.  But  his  life  work  was  before  him, 
ready  to  his  hand.  The  opportunity  for  the  great 
good  which  he  desired  to  do  had  arrived.  The 
means  were  in  his  possession.  It  seemed  like 


340  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

abandonment  of  duty,  like  turning  back  from 
trial  and  labor,  like  retreating  in  the  face  of  an 
enemy  to  sanction  in  any  way  the  suggestion  that 
he  was  willing  to  leave  that  office  for  a  greater. 
Nothing  could  be  greater  or  more  noble  than  the 
task  he  had  set  himself  to  perform. 

So  that  there  was  no  man  in  the  nation  so 
interested  as  he  in  silencing  the  demand  for 
Theodore  Boosevelt's  candidacy  for  Vice-Presi 
dent.  But  there  he  encountered  the  very  political 
opposition  which  he  had  set  himself  to  oppose. 
The  forces  of  his  own  party  in  New  York  which 
were  not  in  accord  with  him  knew  that  he  should 
be  removed  from  the  gubernatorial  chair  at  any 
cost.  They  had  not  wanted  him  there  at  the 
beginning,  and  had  done  all  in  their  power  to 
oppose  him.  They  would  do  all  in  their  power 
now  to  promote  him.  So,  as  the  national  conven 
tion  approached,  they  encouraged  that  demand 
for  Eoosevelt.  They  extended  the  scope  of  their 
influence  all  over  the  country.  In  some  places 
they  went  so  far  as  to  increase  the  clamor  for  his 
name  at  the  head  of  the  ticket— and  many  poli 
ticians  are  still  willing  to  assert  that  he  could 
have  had  the  nomination  for  the  Presidential 
office  if  he  had  manifested  the  slightest  desire  for 


HONOKS   THRUST   UPON   HIM.  341 

it.  But  the  result  of  the  machinations  of  the  poli 
ticians  coincided  exactly  with  the  desires  of  the 
people  for  honoring  this  man,  and  as  June  19 
approached,  the  day  of  the  convention's  assem 
bling,  it  became  more  and  more  evident  that  he 
would  at  least  have  the  offer  of  the  second  place 
in  the  gift  of  the  nation . 

There  was  no  coy  disclaimer,  no  shallow  pre 
tense  of  not  wanting  the  honor.  There  was  a 
rugged  and  honest  declaration  that  he  wanted  to 
remain  Governor  of  New  York  until  his  work 
there  was  completed.  He  constantly  and  dili 
gently  tried  to  discourage  the  "Roosevelt  boom" 
that  he  found  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  again 
one  of  the  New  York  delegates  to  the  convention, 
as  he  had  been  to  the  Chicago  convention  of  1884. 
And  all  the  power  and  influence  he  possessed  was 
exerted  in  opposition  to  his  own  selection.  But 
it  was  fruitless.  The  nation  had  called  him,  and 
he  could  not  but  comply.  So  that  the  ticket  was 
made  up  even  before  the  convention  was  called 

.— • 

to  order. 

As  the  work  of  the  convention  proceeded,  Mr. 
McKinley  was  named  for  President,  and  Mr. 
Eoosevelt  rose  to  second  that  nomination.  His 
speech  was  in  part  as  follows :  ' 1 1  rise  to  second 


342  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

the  nomination  of  William  McKinley,  because 
with  him  as  leader  this  people  has  trod  the  path 
of  national  greatness  and  prosperity  with  the 
strides  of  a  giant,  and  because  under  him  we  can 
and  will  succeed  in  the  election.  Exactly  as  in 
the  past  we  have  remedied  the  evils  which  we 
undertook  to  remedy,  so  now  when  we  say  that  a 
wrong  shall  be  righted,  it  most  assuredly  will  be 
righted. 

"We  stand  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  century, 
a  century  big  with  the  fate  of  the  great  nations 
of  the  earth.  It  rests  with  us  to  decide  now 
whether  in  the  opening  years  of  that  century  we 
shall  march  forward  to  fresh  triumphs,  or 
whether  at  the  outset  we  shall  deliberately  crip 
ple  ourselves  for  the  contest.  Is  America  a 
weakling,  to  shrink  from  the  work  that  must  be 
done  by  the  world-powers?  No!  The  young 
giant  of  the  West  stands  on  a  continent,  and 
clasps  the  crest  of  an  ocean  in  either  hand.  Our 
nation,  glorious  in  youth  and  strength,  looks  into 
the  future  with  eager  and  fearless  eyes,  and 
rejoices,  as  a  strong  man,  to  run  the  race.  We 
do  not  stand  in  the  craven  mood,  asking  to  be 
spared  the  task,  cringing  as  we  gaze  on  the  con 
test.  No.  We  challenge  the  proud  privilege  of 


HONORS  THRUST   UPON   HIM.  343 

doing  the  work  that  Providence  has  allotted  us, 
and  we  face  the  coming  years  high  of  heart  and 
resolute  of  faith  that  to  our  people  is  given  to 
win  such  honor  and  renown  as  has  never  yet  been 
granted  to  the  peoples  of  the  earth. ' ' 

He  was,  beyond  question,  the  one  great  char 
acter  in  the  convention.  The  sessions  were  held 
in  Philadelphia,  a  city  hallowed  by  memories  of 
trials  in  Revolutionary  times,  by  the  memories  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  which  had  been 
signed  there ;  hallowed  by  the  memories  of  that 
earlier  Republican  national  convention,  in  1856, 
when  Col.  John  C.  Fremont  was  the  first  candi 
date  of  the  party  for  the  office.  And  all  the  tra 
ditions  of  that  earlier  age,  when  freedom  and 
advancement  called  the  best  men  in  the  nation  to 
the  public  service  seemed  throbbing  in  the  air  of 
the  big  convention  hall.  There  was  no  opposi 
tion  to  Mr.  McKinley's  selection.  Yet  until  the 
Governor  of  New  York  took  his  place  there  on 
the  platform  and  began  his  speech  seconding  the 
nomination,  there  were  men  who  feared  he  would 
himself  carry  off  first  honors.  Of  course  he  was 
wholly  incapable  of  such  an  act.  It  would  have 
been  a  base  treachery;  but  the  men  who  feared 
him  knew  the  limitless  reaches  of  his  power, 


344  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

knew  what  an  idol  lie  had  become  in  the  public 
eye,  knew  that  if  he  had  been  inspired  by  their 
own  code  of  morals  he  would  take  advantage  of 
even  that  great  and  sacred  opportunity.  But  he 
was  loyal  to  the  chief  of  his  party.  And  when  he 
had  concluded  his  speech  of  seconding,  his  critics 
knew  they  had  heard  a  man  who  was  giving  up 
an  office  which  he  wanted  for  the  certainty  of  one 
not  at  all  to  his  liking,  and  that  no  consideration 
on  earth  could  induce  him  to  be  either  a  traitor  or 
a  coward.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  man  in  political 
life  in  this  country  has  ever  stood  in  a  position 
similar  to  that  occupied  by  Governor  Roosevelt 
at  the  Philadelphia  convention.  It  is  certain 
none  has  acquitted  himself  more  honorably. 

When  the  cheers  over  the  naming  of  the  Pres 
ident  had  died  away,  there  was  a  demand  for 
Roosevelt  for  second  place.  No  effort  was 
needed  to  make  his  nomination  sure.  Not  even 
his  own  opposition  could  prevent  it.  And  when 
the  roll  of  the  convention  was  called,  every  mem 
ber  but  one  voted  for  Theodore  Roosevelt  for 
nomination  to  the  office  of  Vice-President.  That 
one  member  did  not  vote.  It  was  Mr.  Roosevelt 
himself. 

His  letter,  published  a  month  later,  accepted 


COLONEL    ROOSEVELT    DURING    THE    CAMPAIGN    OF   19OO 


HONORS  THRUST   UPON    HIM.  345 

the  honor  thrust  upon  him,  and  sounded  the  key 
note  of  his  party,  the  sentiment  of  his  country,  in 
language  too  vigorous  and  clear  to  be  misunder 
stood.  Partisan  though  he  was,  he  still  held  to 
the  position  of  a  patriot;  and  there  was  no 
speaker  or  writer  in  the  campaign  less  offensive 
to  his  political  enemies  than  was  this  man  who 
had  proved  his  right  to  talk  plainly  to  his  fellow- 
countrymen. 

In  compliment  to  his  service  in  the  war, 
numerous  bands  of  peaceful  "  Rough  Riders " 
were  organized  all  over  the  nation.  They 
included  men  from  every  walk  of  life.  Farmers 
and  bankers,  lawyers  and  laboring  men  rode  side 
by  side  in  parades,  all  clad  in  the  khaki  suits 
resembling  those  worn  by  the  soldiers  at  San 
Juan.  It  .was  a  campaign  device  more  useful 
than  the  "log  cabins"  of  1840,  or  the  "tanners' 

«•• 

clubs  "t  of  1868.  Having  accepted  the  nomina 
tion,  Governor  Roosevelt  threw  himself  into  the 
campaign  with  all  the  ardor  of  his  nature,  and 
contributed  more  largely,  perhaps,  to  the  election 
of  the  ticket  than  any  other  man  in  the  nation. 
As  a  public  speaker  he  was  a  most  pronounced 
success.  It  can  hardly  be  said  he  possesses  the 
graces  of  a  polished  orator.  There  were  scores  of 


346  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

men  in  his  party  and  in  the  opposition  who  could 
compose  an  address  of  far  greater  literary  finish. 
There  were  many  men  who  understood  the  arts 
of  the  elocutionist,  and  could  round  a  period  with 
a  nicer  sense  of  dramatic  requirements.  But 
there  was  none,  on  either  side,  who  spoke  so 
directly  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  or  from  whose 
speaking  the  people  carried  away  so  much  to 
remember.  The  campaign  which  he  made  has 
never  been  equaled  in  the  number  of  States  cov 
ered,  the  interest  excited  or  in  the  number  of 
persons  addressed.  A  famous  weekly  newspaper 
has  said:  "The  campaigns  of  Douglas  in  1856, 
of  Greeley  in  1872,  and  of  Elaine  in  1884  were 
historic  in  those  respects;  but  not  one  of  the 
candidates  in  those  years  made  a  tenth  as  many 
speeches  as  Roosevelt  did  in  1900.  He  traveled 
22,000  miles,  delivered  673  addresses,  most  of 
them  of  more  than  an  hour's  duration,  visiting 
567  towns,  and  speaking  to  3,500,000  people. 
Most  of  his  itinerary  was  in  the  Middle  West 
and  the  trans-Mississippi  region,  throughout  all 
of  which  Governor  Roosevelt  has  always  been  a 
favorite.  One  of  these  gatherings  was  especially 
notable  for  its  size,  its  exuberance,  the  number  of 
elements  it  represented,  and  the  impartiality  with 


HONORS  THRUST    UPON    HIM.  347 

which  it  voiced  the  feelings  of  all  sections.  It 
was  in  St.  Louis,  that  central  point  of  the  merid 
ians  and  the  parallels,  the  mingling-place  of  the 
North  and  the  South,  the  West  and  the  East.  The 
meeting  was  in  the  Coliseum,  the  largest  audito 
rium  entered  by  Governor  Roosevelt  on  his  tour. 
In  the  vast  hall  were  crowded  fifteen  thousand 
people.  As  many  more  were  close  to  the  build 
ing  on  the  outside,  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
him  as  he  passed  in  and  out.  As  he  entered  the 
hall,  the  cheers  shook  the  structure,  and  the  thou 
sands  of  flags  and  handkerchiefs  waved  like  a 
forest  in  a  tornado.  The  audience  sang  '  Amer 
ica,'  in  which  the  orator  joined.  The  bands  suc 
cessively  and  miscellaneously  played  'John 
Brown's  Body, " The  Bonnie  Blue  Flag, " March 
ing  Through  Georgia,'  ' Maryland,  My  Mary 
land,'  'The  Bed,  White  and  Blue,'  'Dixie,'  and 
'The  Star-Spangled  Banner.'  It  was  a  striking 
exhibit  of  the  number  and  variety  of  ingredients 
which  form  the  composite  called  the  American. 
The  demonstration  was  a  magnificent  tribute  to 
the  popularity  of  Governor  Roosevelt,  particu 
larly  in  the  West. " 

As  Rowland,  the  Rough  Rider,  had  said :  "We 
didn't  do  no  hard  fighting  down  there"— refer- 


348  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

ring  to  the  Santiago  campaign.  Governor  Roose 
velt  would  have  been  the  last  man  to  pretend  the 
conflicts  at  San  Juan  hill  and  at  Las  Guasimas 
were  great  battles.  The  percentage  of  fatal 
ity  was  larger  than  at  Waterloo,  it  is  true ;  but 
in  the  sense  that  Hohenlinden,  Gravelotte  or 
Gettysburg  were  battles,  he  would  have  been  first 
to  enter  a  disclaimer.  Yet  so  far  as  heroism  is 
concerned,  a  battle  is  an  individual  affair,  and 
those  men  who  went  up  that  hill  at  San  Juan,  or 
through  the  jungle  at  Las  Guasimas,  were  equal 
in  courage  and  in  execution  to  the  men  who 
charged  under  Cardigan  at  Balaklava  or  with 
Pickett  at  Cemetery  Ridge.  There  is  a  broad 
and  generous  sense  of  fairness  in  the  minds  of 
the  American  people ;  and  they  rated  as  a  hero 
this  man  who  had  led  the  fighting  force.  They 
felt,  and  they  always  will  feel,  that  whatever  suc 
cess  was  accomplished  in  those  hot  days  on  the 
land  side  of  Santiago  was  the  work  of  Roosevelt. 
They  were  not  sure  how  much  good  had  been 
secured  by  the  victory,  nor  what  disposition 
would  be  made  of  the  positions  gained.  But  they 
did  know  that  American  prestige  had  been  ad 
vanced,  and  that  the  great  Republic  had  been 
lifted  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  in  their  own 


HONORS  THRUST    UPON   HIM.  349 

eyes.  So  they  rallied  to  the  standard  of  this  man 
who  was  strenuous  in  peace  and  efficient  in  war, 
and  pledged  their  allegiance  to  him. 

The  day  of  voting  came,  and  McKinley  and 
Roosevelt  were  elected.  The  man  who  contrib 
uted  largely  to  that  success,  as  to  most  in  which 
he  had  at  all  been  a  factor,  resigned  the  work  in 
New  York  State  which  he  would  have  preferred 
to  follow,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  less  trying 
—and  less  useful— duties  of  the  Vice-Presidency. 
It  has  been  said  he  was  not  offensive  even  to  his 
political  opponents  in  the  campaign.  There  was 
a  day  in  Colorado  when  a  hoodlum  crowd  jeered 
at  him,  and  when  a  number  of  irresponsibles 
whom  shame  has  hidden  treated  this  candidate 
for  the  second  office  in  the  nation  much  as  they 
might  have  treated  a  bad  actor.  But  there  never 
was  a  day  when  they  planted  in  his  mind  an 
antipathy  against  them  as  members  of  the  great 
body  of  American  citizens.  He  knew  the  stress 
of  partisan  hatred  in  the  heat  of  a  campaign.  He 
knew  the  West  in  particular;  and  the  incident 
which  affronted  the  nation  waked  no  lasting 
resentment  in  the  mind  of  Roosevelt.  When  he 
had  been  elevated  to  his  high  office,  he  was  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States— not  the  favored 


350  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

choice  of  a  party.  He  was  an  expression,  so  far 
as  his  office  went,  of  the  will  and  the  desire,  the 
purpose  and  the  destiny,  of  the  whole  nation. 
Not  one  lingering  trace  of  resentment  lurked  in 
his  bosom.  He  was  the  elected  of  the  whole  peo 
ple.  He  refused  to  harbor  enmity. 

When  Congress  assembled,  he  became  the  pre 
siding  officer  of  the  Senate.  No  one  knew  better 
than  he  the  small  modicum  of  initiative  accorded 
that  officer.  Yet  there  is  something  almost  pro 
phetic  on  this  point  in  one  of  his  articles,  written 
in  1896.  It  was  long  before  he  could  have  had 
any  thought  of  being  elected  to  the  office,  and  the 
point  of  view  is,  therefore,  entirely  outside  the 
personal  equation.  Speaking  of  the  nomination 
of  some  Vice-Presidential  candidates  previous  to 
1896,  he  said:  "It  will  be  noticed  that  most  of 
these  evils  arise  from  the  fact  that  the  Vice-Pres 
ident,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  possesses 
so  little  real  power.  He  presides  over  the  Senate, 
and  he  has  in  Washington  a  position  of  marked 
social  importance;  but  his  political  weight  as 
Vice-President  is  almost  nil.  There  is  always  a 
chance  that  he  may  become  President.  As  this 
is  only  a  chance  it  seems  quite  impossible  to  per 
suade  politicians  to  give  it  the  proper  weight. 


HONORS  THBUST   UPON   HIM.  351 

This  certainly  does  not  seem  right.  The  Vice- 
President  should,  so  far  as  possible,  represent 
the  same  views  and  principles  that  have  secured 
the  nomination  and  election  of  the  President; 
and  he  should  be  a  man  trusted  and  able  in  the 
event  of  any  accident  to  his  chief,  to  take  up  the 
work  of  the  latter  just  where  it  was  left." 

It  is  a  little  curious  that  a  man  who  could  have 
said  that  in  1896  should  have  been  the  first  Vice- 
President  thereafter  to  realize  that  "chance  of 
succeeding  to  the  Presidency. ' ' 

Through  the  months  of  his  incumbency  of  the 
office,  in  the  winter  session,  little  can  be  said  for 
Vice-President  Roosevelt  other  than  that  he  was 
fair  in  his  judgments,  courteous  in  his  relations 
with  the  Senators,  and  always  cognizant  of  the 
dignity  of  his  position  as  next  to  the  official  head 
of  the  nation.  Little  can  be  said,  except  this: 
There  was  never  a  day  when  any  band  of  politi 
cians  felt  for  a  moment  that  he  was  under  obliga 
tion  ;  that  he  was  owned.  As  he  had  been  a  stal 
wart  and  honest  man  from  the  beginning,  so  he 
continued  in  his  high  office.  And  the  forces  of 
the  Senate  knew  that  its  presiding  officer  could 
neither  be  fooled  nor  flattered.  He  was  still  a 
member  of  his  party,  but  he  was  at  the  same  time 


352  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

a  Vice-President  of  the  United  States;   and  no 
influence  could  make  him  less  than  that ! 

When  Congress  adjourned,  when  the  work  of 
that  notable  session  had  ended,  Vice-President 
Eoosevelt  took  advantage  of  the  vacation  to 
engage  in  a  hunt  which  he  had  been  contemplat 
ing  for  years,  and  which  possessed  all  possible 
attractiveness  for  a  man  of  his  mettle.  Of  the 
few  big  animals  in  the  United  States,  still  wild 
and  defiant  of  the  hunter,  the  grizzly  bear  and  the 
mountain  lion,  the  latter  commonly  called  the 
cougar,  are  the  most  distinctive.  He  had  made 
trial  with  the  grizzly,  and  the  result  of  his  hunt 
ing  has  been  told.  There  was  a  section  of  the 
country,  in  the  wilds  of  Colorado,  where  the 
cougar  had  not  been  much  hunted ;  and  there  he 
went  in  the  late  winter  and  early  spring  of  1901. 
He  found  a  hunter  who  possessed  the  necessary 
pack  of  hunting-dogs,  and  who  knew  where  the 
dangerous  animals  could  be  found.  And  there 
the  two  of  them  hunted  for  a  month.  In  that 
time  Mr.  Roosevelt  killed  fourteen  cougars, 
some  at  the  expense  of  great  peril,  all  at  the 
expense  of  hardship  and  exposure.  The  story  of 
that  hunt  has  been  admirably  told  by  Mr.  Eoose 
velt  in  Scribner's  Magazine  for  October,  1901. 


\ 


A    FINE    BOBCAT 


HONORS  THRUST   UPON   HIM.  353 

But,  lest  the  imputation  of  an  unwarranted  lust 
for  hunting  should  lie  against  him,  it  must  be 
stated  that  natural  history  is  greatly  the  gainer 
because  of  his  hunt.  He  tells  of  the  varying 
characteristics  of  the  animals;  of  their  range 
and  habits  and  peculiarities ;  and  he  sent  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington  the  skulls 
of  all  the  animals  killed,  so  that  their  measure 
ments  might  be  taken  and  added  to  the  slender 
sum  of  information  possessed  by  Americans  as  to 
this  most  distinctive  of  American  animals.  The 
interesting  feature  as  to  all  his  enterprises  is  that 
he  looks  below  the  surface.  Here,  at  a  time  when 
he  might  have  been  pardoned  for  resigning  him 
self  utterly  to  the  delights  of  the  chase,  he  was 
studying  the  characteristics  of  the  creatures  he 
encountered,  comparing  them  with  the  rather 
limited  data  already  published,  and  establishing 
the  truth  as  existing  facts  provided  the  means. 
He  returned  from  that  hunt  to  enjoy  a  short 
summer  of  rest,  perhaps  the  first  he  had  really 
known  since  that  distant  day  in  the  Murray  Hill 
congressional  district  of  New  York,  when  he  con 
cluded  to  go  to  the  assembly;  and  from  it  he 
was  called— abundantly  prepared,  yet  tearfully 
reluctant— to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  nation. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  PKESIDENT  MC  KINLEY. 

LEON  CZOLGOSZ  STRIKES  DOWN  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  NATION  — 
COUNTRY  PLUNGED  IN  SORROW  —  HOPE  AND  DESPAIR  ALTER 
NATE  —  "NEARER,  MY  GOD,  TO  THEE "  —  END  OF  A  NOBLE 
LIFE— THE  REPUBLIC  PAUSES  WHILE  ITS  PRESIDENT  IS  LAID  TO 
REST. 

The  Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo  was 
in  successful  progress  September  5,  1901,  when 
President  McKinley  left  his  home  in  the  White 
House  in  Washington  in  the  company  of  his 
wife  and  the  members  of  his  cabinet,  together 
with  a  party  of  other  friends,  for  a  visit  to  that 
11  magic  city"  by  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  Septem 
ber  6  was  "President's  Day,"  and  an  immense 
number  of  people  had  gathered  to  greet  the  chief 
executive  of  the  nation.  In  the  afternoon  of  that 
day  President  McKinley  took  his  stand  in  the 
Temple  of  Music,  with  his  personal  and  official 
friends  about  him.  The  crowds  of  people  formed 
themselves  in  line,  and  passed  for  the  handshake 
which  has  long  been  a  part  of  executive  custom, 
and  to  pay  their  respects  to  one  whom  all  hon- 

354 


Me  KINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  355 

ored,  whatever  their  political  prejudice  may  have 
been. 

All  about  him  were  the  accessories  of  harmo 
nious  sounds.  A  little  to  one  side  stood  the 
mighty  organ  which  had  but  an  hour  before 
breathed  forth  the  tender  passages  from  "The 
Messiah'';  and  the  whole  atmosphere  seemed 
attuned  to  the  sentiment  of  that  angel  band 
which  sang  to  the  shepherds:  "Peace  on  earth, 
good  will  to  men. ' ' 

Hundreds  had  walked  slowly  past,  shaking 
the  hand  of  the  President,  and  moving  into  the 
wider  grounds,  to  await  his  reappearance  for  the 
drive  from  the  plaza.  Farmers,  business  men, 
manufacturers,  sailors  and  soldiers,  young  and 
old,  women  and  children,  all  were  represented  in 
the  lines  that  pressed  up  for  the  greeting  and  the 
coveted  handshake.  In  that  line,  unmarked  by 
anything  that  could  publish  his  purpose  to 
those  charged  with  the  President's  safe-keeping, 
came  Leon  Czolgosz,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
four,  in  the  conventional  dress  of  the  well-to-do 
mechanic  or  artisan.  His  right  hand  was  half 
concealed  beneath  the  breast  of  his  coat,  and 
about  the  wrist  was  wound/in  such  manner  as 
to  be  observable  by  all,  a  handkerchief.  It  was  as 


356  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

though  the  hand  were  disabled,  and  had  been 
bound  up.  In  consequence  of  that,  he  extended 
his  left  hand  for  the  greeting;  and  President 
McKinley,  always  observant  of  misfortune, 
always  tender  in  his  consideration  for  those  who 
suffer,  took  the  left  hand  gently  in  his  right,  the 
quick  sympathy  beaming  from  his  face  as  he  bent 
above  the  citizen. 

In  that  instant,  with  his  naked  palm  pressing 
the  hand  of  his  President,  Leon  Czolgosz  drew 
from  beneath  his  coat  a  revolver,  and  fired  two 
shots  into  the  body  before  him. 

Czolgosz 's  hat,  carried  under  his  arm,  and 
pressed  against  his  side  with  his  elbow,  fell  to 
the  ground.  There  was  an  instant  of  unspeak 
able  silence,  in  which  the  most  trivial  of  details 
impressed  themselves  on  the  memory  of  those 
who  stood  about.  The  report  of  the  shots  had 
not  been  heard  outside  of  the  building.  Those 
nearest  the  President  recovered  in  a  fraction  of 
a  moment,  and  one  of  them  leaped  on  the  culprit 
—who,  however,  made  not  the  slightest  attempt 
to  escape.  He  was  thrown  to  the  ground.  He 
was  grasped  and  buffeted  by  a  score  who  were 
tardily  recognizing  the  enormity  of  his  frightful 
crime.  The  President  staggered  back,  and  was 


PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT  CONFERRING  WITH   SENATOR   HANNA  ON   THE  WAY  TO 
THE   MILBURN    HOUSE,  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 


357 

caught  in  the  arms  of  those  nearest  him.  Of  all 
in  the  building,  he  was  first  to  understand.  And 
the  words  which  welled  to  his  whitening  lips, 
even  before  the  waking  of  conscious  pain,  were : 
1  i  May  God  forgive  him ! ' ' 

He  was  assisted  to  an  armchair,  and  physi 
cians  were  summoned.  His  attention  was  first 
attracted  to  the  assassin,  who  was  being  hustled 
vehemently  from  the  building.  ( l  Don 't  let  them 
hurt  him,"  he  said.  Then,  in  a  moment:  "Do 
not  tell  my  wife  of  this.  Or,  if  it  must  be  done, 
do  not  frighten  her. ' ' 

He  was  removed  to  the  emergency  hospital, 
where  it  was  found  the  first  ball  had  inflicted  but 
a  slight  flesh  wound,  but  that  the  second  had  pen 
etrated  the  stomach.  After  a  surgical  operation, 
rendered  instantly  necessary,  the  President  was 
removed  to  the  residence  of  a  friend,  where  he 
had  been  a  guest  since  arriving  in  Buffalo. 

And  there,  after  seven  days,  he  died. 

His  assassin  had  never  before  seen  President 
McKinley.  He  had  no  personal  ends  to  gain  by 
the  act,  and  no  sense  of  revenge  to  gratify.  He 
stated  later  in  jail  that  he  was  an  anarchist ;  that 
he  believed  all  kings  and  rulers  should  be  "  re 
moved,  ' '  and  that  he  had  come  to  Buffalo  for  the 


358  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

express  purpose  of  killing  President  McKinley. 
He  had  voted  for  that  gentleman  in  1896,  but 
since  then  had  listened  to  the  speeches  of  Emma 
Goldman,  a  leader  among  the  anarchists  of  the 
country,  and  had  read  the  publications  of  their 
societies.  He  at  no  time  denied  his  act,  and  at 
most  times  appeared  composed  and  sane.  When 
arraigned,  he  pleaded  ' '  guilty, ' '  although  the  law 
of  New  York  State  refuses  to  accept  the  plea  in 
capital  cases.  Beyond  that,  little  is  known  of 
Czolgosz,  except  that  he  was  a  native  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  his  father  was  an  immi 
grant  from  Russian  Poland.  The  family  had 
lived  at  different  places  in  the  lower  peninsula 
of  Michigan,  and  no  member  of  it  had  ever  risen 
to  public  notice,  with  the  exception  of  the  father, 
who  in  1876  made  one  of  a  party  that  attacked 
a  tyrannical  landlord  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
killed  him.  This  landlord  was  a  nobleman  from 
central  Germany,  and  had  brought  to  America 
quite  a  fortune  in  money.  He  established  himself 
on  an  island  near  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Michi 
gan,  arid  set  up  a  sort  of  old-world  barony.  He 
regarded  himself  as  vastly  the  superior  of  his 
neighbors,  and  imposed  upon  them  grossly.  He 
indulged  in  a  life  of  lawlessness  and  brazen 


359 

debauchery  at  his  island  home,  and  scandalized 
the  whole  community.  His  habits  became  unbear 
able,  and  his  abuse  of  the  settlers  about  the  place 
continued  until,  driven  to  desperation,  they 
gathered  one  night,  and  fired  a  fusilade  of  bul 
lets  into  his  house.  He  was  instantly  killed,  and 
the  perpetrators  of  the  deed  escaped  without  a 
trial.  It  was  the  sense  of  the  region  that  the  dis 
solute  and  abusive  nobleman  had  received  pre 
cisely  what  he  deserved,  and  the  matter  dropped 
there.  The  father  of  Leon  Czolgosz  was  a  mem 
ber  of  that  party,  and  a  number  of  the  family 
relatives  still  live  in  Alpena  county,  where  these 
incidents  occurred.  Later  the  father  of  Leon 
moved  to  Detroit,  and  there  the  lad  attended  pub 
lic  school.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  timid  child, 
a  cowardly  boy  through  all  his  years  up  to  man 
hood.  He  has  himself  complained  that  he  * '  never 
had  any  luck."  In  many  respects  he  became  a 
complete  realization  of  degeneracy.  He  read 
books  relating  to  anarchy,  and  advocating  that 
doctrine.  He  listened  to  addresses  by  a  number 
of  the  more  prominent  exponents  of  anarchy,  and 
readily  agreed  with  them  in  their  denunciation 
of  law.  It  is  possible  that  the  story  of  slaying 
the  German  baron  was  told  and  approved  in  his 


360  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

father 's  family,  and  that  Leon  came  naturally  to 
think  that  substantial  justice  could  best  be  done 
without  regard  to  the  forms  of  law,  and  on  the 
judgment  of  individuals  who  may  feel  themselves 
aggrieved.  True,  he  was  not  aggrieved  as  an 
individual  in  this  case ;  but  a  man  who  advances 
t  i  ill  luck  "  as  an  excuse  for  failure  in  life  is  likely 
to  regard  all  successful  men  as  his  enemies.  It 
is  then  easy  to  apply  the  other  rule :  that  a  man 
should  settle  with  his  enemies  in  such  manner 
as  will  best  gratify  his  sense  of  their  crime's 
enormity. 

There  may  have  been  a  plot  among  anarchists 
of  the  country,  and  that  Czolgosz  was  deputed 
by  fellow-malcontents  to  "  remove "  the  Presi 
dent.  For  a  man  habitually  "out  of  luck,"  he 
certainly  rode  around  the  country  a  good  deal. 
He  was  in  Chicago  ten  days  before  the  assassina 
tion,  and  there  learned  that  the  President  was 
going  td  Buffalo  October  5.  He  paid  his  fare 
from  the  Western  to  the  Eastern  city.  He  had 
kept  up  his  dues  in  the  anarchist  "lodges"  to 
which  he  belonged.  He  had  been  a  worker  in 
iron,  but  had  left  that  occupation  because  of  ill 
health.  For  two  years  he  seems  not  to  have  had 
any  very  lucrative  occupation,  yet  he  had  money. 


MCKINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  361 

All  these  incidents  support  the  theory  that  Czol- 
gosz  was  an  emissary  of  the  organized  haters  of 
law,  in  spite  of  his  own  statement  that  he  com 
mitted  the  crime  on  his  own  account,  and  with  not 
even  a  suggestion  from  any  one  else.  Just  what 
is  the  truth,  the  future  will  most  likely  tell.  Cer 
tainly  there  was  not  even  the  harebrained  reason 
existing  in  the  case  of  Guiteau,  nor  the  passionate 
motive  of  Booth. 

It  happened  that  a  number  of  very  excellent 
physicians  were  close  at  hand  when  the  President 
was  shot,  and  they  gave  him  immediate  attention. 
Specialists  were  summoned,  and  every  step  in 
the  treatment  was  taken  on  the  judgment  and 
approval  of  the  men  best  qualified  to  decide.    All 
that  first  night  the  suspense  throughout  the  coun 
try  was  painfully  intense.     The  President  had 
not  been  instantly  killed,  and  a  gleam  of  hope 
came  from  the  sick  chamber  when  it  was  known 
he  still  lived  at  dawn.    The  hope  grew  next  day 
when  signs  of  improvement  were  detected,  and 
published  throughout  the  world.     Messages  of 
condolence  from  every  capital  in  every  land  were 
followed  with  other  messages  of  cheer  at  the 
apparent  start  toward  recovery.     Through  six 
days  each  bulletin  was  fairer  than  the  last,  and 


362  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

it  was  with  a  double  sorrow  that  the  nation  was 
advised  on  the  following  Friday— a  week  from 
the  day  of  the  shooting— that  the  President  was 
very  much  worse,  and  could  hardly  hope  to  re 
cover.  And  a  little  past  midnight  on  the  morning 
of  Saturday  he  died. 

President  McKinley  knew  that  his  end  was 
approaching,  and  he  fronted  the  grim  fate  with 
all  the  courage  which  a  man  of  such  life  should 
have  possessed.  He  bade  farewell  to  his  friends, 
and  the  members  of  his  official  family,  and  his 
parting  with  his  wife  was  sorrowfully  tender. 
He  spoke  encouraging  words  to  all,  and  partic 
ularly  to  the  woman  who  had  been  his  "half  of 
life"  for  more  than  thirty  years. 

When  the  end  came  an  examination  was  made 
by  the  physicians.  The  bullet  which  had  pene 
trated  his  stomach  had  never  been  removed.  The 
surgeons  thought  the  patient  would  be  exposed  to 
less  risk  by  this  course  than  if  they  should  sub 
ject  him  to  the  exhausting  ordeal  of  further  prob 
ing.  But  in  the  autopsy  it  was  found  that  the 
course  of  the  bullet  was  marked  with  gangrene. 
Whether  this  was  the  result  of  some  substance 
applied  to  the  bullet  before  firing,  or  whether  the 
gangrene  was  due  to  another  cause,  could  not 


«   M 

s° 

a 


MC  KINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  363 

be  determined.  But  the  apparent  improvement 
in  President  McKinley's  condition  had  been  de 
ceptive.  In  the  absence  of  the  gangrene,  he 
would  almost  certainly  have  recovered.  With  it 
there,  death  had  begun  from  the  instant  the 
wound  was  inflicted. 

Through  Sunday  the  body  of  the  dead  Presi 
dent  lay  in  the  house  of  his  friend,  and  sermons 
were  delivered  throughout  the  country  extolling 
his  virtues,  and  deprecating  the  horror  of  his 
taking  off.  The  whole  nation  was  bowed  with 
the  terrible  sorrow.  Mr.  McKinley  had"  always 
been  a  strong  partisan,  and  yet  he  had  been  so 
gentle  in  manner,  so  courteous  even  to  his  oppo 
nents,  and  so  manly  and  honorable  in  his  busi 
ness  and  social  life,  that  there  was  no  bitterness 
in  any  heart  toward  him.  Those  who  had  differed 
with  him  in  policy  cheerfully  conceded  his  up 
rightness  and  sincerity.  But,  above  all,  there  was 
a  sentiment,  more  evident  here  than  in  any  other 
case,  that  this  man  was  the  President  of  the  whole 
nation;  that  he  was,  in  some  sense,  the  expres 
sion  of  the  purpose  and  the  dignity  of  every  law- 
abiding  man  and  woman.  It  was  the  perfection 
of  the  national  sentiment ;  and  every  citizen  felt 
a  personal  sense  of  bereavement,  of  indignation 


364  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

at  the  felon  who  had  stricken  down  this  official, 
and  of  horror  at  the  deed.  Almost  the  last  words 
of  the  President  had  been : l '  God 's  will  be  done ! ' ' 
And  the  general  sorrow  was  tempered  with  a 
reverent  regard  for  the  uncomplaining  victim  of 
unreasoning  crime. 

Monday  morning  the  body,  inclosed  in  a  cas 
ket  upon  which  the  flag  of  the  nation  was  laid, 
started  for  Washington.  The  journey  was  made 
on  a  special  train,  which  was  given  the  right  of 
way.  All  along  the  line  were  evidences  of  the 
general  grief.  In  cities  and  towns  bells  were 
tolled,  and  flags  were  at  half-mast.  Along  coun 
try  roads  families  of  farmers,  and  pupils  from 
district  schools  assembled,  and  waved  their  tear 
ful  salute  as  the  crape-covered  train  hurried  past. 
In  Harrisburg  a  great  choral  society  sang 
"Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee"— a  hymn  which  had 
been  well  loved  by  the  President.  Thousands 
gathered  at  the  station  in  Washington,  and  fol 
lowed  respectfully  and  silently  through  the  night 
as  the  casket  was  carried  to  the  White  House.  It 
remained  there  until  morning,  and  then  was 
removed  to  the  rotunda  of  the  capitol,  where  a 
funeral  service  was  conducted  in  presence  of  a 
thousand  friends  of  the  late  President,  and  offi- 


MC  KINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  365 

cials  of  the  various  governments  represented  in 
Washington.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  service 
the  great  bronze  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  the 
public  was  admitted.  For  six  hours  the  people 
filed  past,  and  then  the  doors  were  closed  again, 
and  the  great  coffin  was  carried  back  to  the  execu 
tive  mansion. 

Thursday  the  body  of  President  McKinley 
was  consigned  to  a  vault  in  the  cemetery  at  Can 
ton,  Ohio,  the  home  he  had  chosen  when  a  young 
man.  The  little  city  was  crowded  beyond  all  prec 
edent.  More  than  a  hundred  thousand  people  had 
come  to  attend  the  last  sad  rites.  The  entire  pop 
ulation  of  Canton  was  but  thirty  thousand,  and 
accommodations  for  entertainment  were  far 
from  adequate.  But  there  was  no  complaint  at 
discomfort.  An  inclination  on  the  part  of  cer 
tain  citizens  to  make  money  in  consequence  of  the 
nation's  grief— as  by  renting  their  windows,  and 
charging  exorbitant  prices  for  food— was  noted, 
and  passed  without  comment. 

The  final  funeral  services  were  held  in  the 
Canton  church  at  which  Mr.  McKinley  had  been 
an  attendant,  of  which  he  had  been  a  member 
through  all  his  adult  life ;  and  then  the  last  jour 
ney  began.  Nominally,  it  was  a  private  funeral. 


366  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

Actually  it  was  a  national  demonstration.  More 
than  twelve  thousand  marching  men  were  in  line. 
About  half  were  the  citizen  soldiery  of  Ohio.  The 
rest  were  old  soldiers,  or  members  of  the  civic 
and  fraternal  organizations  from  all  over  the 
country.  The  head  of  the  cortege  arrived  at  the 
cemetery  at  3 :30  o  'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The 
roadway  from  the  gate  to  the  receiving  vault  was 
strewn  with  flowers.  From  the  hill-tops  the  Pres 
ident 's  salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  fired  at  inter 
vals  of  a  minute,  boomed  his  last  official  recogni 
tion.  As  the  casket  was  lifted  from  the  hearse 
the  gathered  throngs  stood  with  bared  heads; 
and  when  the  door  of  the  vault  was  reached,  eight 
buglers,  brought  from  the  regular  army,  joined 
in  sounding  "taps"— the  soldier's  good-night. 
Mrs.  McKinley,  who  had  been  in  delicate  health 
for  years,  was  unable  to  accompany  the  body  of 
her  husband  to  its  last  resting-place,  and  re 
mained  in  the  Canton  home  which  his  industry 
had  provided,  and  his  love  had  glorified  to  her 
using. 

The  funeral  was  made  the  more  impressive 
by  an  unprecedented  action  taken  throughout  the 
country.  While  the  coffin  was  being  transferred 
from  hearse  to  vault,  and  while  the  last  prayers 


PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT   AT   THE    MARTYRED    PRESIDENT'S   CASKET 


MC  KINLEY'S  ASSASSINATION.  367 

were  being  said,  industry  of  all  kinds,  in  every 
city  of  the  Republic,  was  absolutely  suspended. 
Of  all  the  tributes  paid  to  the  dead  President, 
none  approached  in  majesty  and  impressiveness 
that  utter  abandonment  of  all  occupation.  From 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  not  a  wheel  turned  in 
any  mill,  nor  on  any  railroad,  for  the  five  min 
utes  of  that  final  ceremony.  Engineers,  firemen, 
conductors,  crews,  paused  for  a  period  in  their 
occupation,  turned  devoutly  toward  the  little 
town  where  the  last  sad  rites  were  being  per 
formed,  and  sent  their  thoughts  to  join  in  the 
hushed  farewell.  That  stopping  of  America,  that 
pause  of  the  United  States,  that  wait  of  every 
citizen  while  the  body  of  one  dead  was  laid  away, 
is  impressive  past  all  power  of  description.  Of 
it  a  famous  author  has  said:  "Five  minutes 
taken  out  of  life!  Five  minutes  snatched  from 
activity,  lost  to  productive  effort,  subtracted 
from  material  struggle !  It  is  an  amazing  thing 
in  the  most  energetic,  the  most  thrifty  nation  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  And  yet  that  five  minutes, 
taken  from  the  total  money  value  of  the  day, 
brought  in  return  a  sense  of  tenderness,  of  fra 
ternity  with  all  the  other  millions  waiting,  bowed 
and  reverent,  which  nothing  else  could  have  pro- 


368  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

duced.  That  five  minutes  was  the  best  invest 
ment  that  busy  lives  could  possibly  make.  It 
brought  them  nearer  all  that  was  noble  in  the  life 
that  had  been  ended.  It  gave  them  a  better  con 
fidence  in  the  citizenship  of  America.  It  enacted 
anew  the  law  of  love,  and  blessed  with  its  swift 
ministrations  the  purer  patriotism.  Silence  and 
tears  for  the  victim  of  malignant  hate;  new 
resolves  for  the  upholding  of  law  and  the  exten 
sion  of  real  liberty ;  unbounded  faith  in  the  sta 
bility  of  our  republican  institutions ;  an  impres 
sive  warning  to  the  foes  of  order— such  was  the 
moment's  meaning  to  every  loyal  American,  and 
to  the  world. 

"Eighty  millions  of  people,  gathered  about  a 
bit  of  earth,  six  feet  by  two !  That  is  the  specta 
cle  bought  at  a  price  so  matchless. ' ' 


CHAFER   XIX. 

SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  TAKES  OATH  OF  OFFICE— INFORMED  OF  HIS 
CHIEF'S  DEATH  WHILE  HUNTING  IN  THE  ADIRONDACK^— SOL 
EMN  SCENES  AT  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SUBLIME  OBLI 
GATION—DECLARES  HE  WILL  CARRY  OUT  MC  KINLEY  7S  POLICY. 

Theodore  Eoosevelt  became  President  of  the 
United  States  on  Saturday,  September  14,  1901. 
The  oath  of  office  was  administered  by  Judge 
John  R.  Hazel,  of  the  United  States  District 
Court,  at  3:32  P.M.,  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  in 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Ansley  Wilcox,  a  personal 
friend  of  the  Vice-President,  who  had  been  his 
host  earlier  in  the  week  when  the  physicians 
thought  President  McKinley  would  recover 
from  the  wounds  inflicted  by  the  assassin.  _. 

When  the  President  was  shot  Colonel  Roose 
velt  was  at  Isle  La  Motte,  near  Burlington,  Ver 
mont.  He  had  just  finished  an  address  when  he 
was  informed  of  the  dreadful  tragedy.  He  has 
tened  at  once  to  the  side  of  his  wounded  chief, 
where  he  remained  until  the  physicians,  deceived 


370  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

as  to  the  deadly  nature  of  the  wounds,  gave  him 
assurance  that  the  President  would  live.  Then, 
worn  by  the  terrible  strain  of  the  situation,  he 
retired  to  the  solitude  of  the  mountains,  praying 
that  the  prediction  might  be  fulfilled. 

To  no  one  of  all  the  hosts  of  President  McKin 
ley 's  warmest  admirers  was  the  shock  of  the 
nation's  tragedy  so  severe  as  to  him  who  was 
nearest  in  honor  and  counsel.  During  all  his 
later  years  of  public  life  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  been 
in  the  confidence  of  President  McKinley.  Dur 
ing  the  preceding  campaign  they  had  been 
drawn  closer  and  closer  together  and  a  friend 
ship  had  grown  up  between  them  that  was  closer 
than  any  that  ever  existed  between  two  men 
similarly  situated.  The  President  found  in  this 
strong,  energetic  man  a  comrade  he  could  trust 
in  every  particular.  He  admired  his  fearless 
espousal  of  practical  reforms  and  seconded  his 
efforts  in  that  direction  on  every  possible  occa 
sion.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Eoosevelt  saw  in 
President  McKinley  what  many  of  his  closest 
friends  failed  to  recognize :  the  expansive  mind 
that  led  the  people  onward  toward  the  heights  of 
civil  government,  but  in  such  a  gentle  way  and 
with  such  marked  deference  to  their  wishes  that 


SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PKESIDE1SFCY.  1B33 

they  often  believed  they  themselves  were  leading 
him.  Colonel  Roosevelt  recognized  the  true 
greatness  of  William  McKinley  almost  from 
their  first  introduction,  and  loved  him  always 
as  a  younger  brother  might  have  done.  The 
attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  President  unnerved 
him  as  nothing  else  had  ever  done.  When  he  was 
told  of  it  he  turned  white,  and,  strong  man  as 
he  is,  would  have  fallen  had  he  not  been  sup 
ported.  When  urged  to  speak  he  said :  "I  am  so 
inexpressibly  grieved  and  shocked,  and  horrified, 
that  I  can  say  nothing. ' ' 

How  great  was  the  strain  on  the  minds  of 
every  one  during  those  first  hours  immediately 
following  the  shooting  is  beyond  description. 
Some  who  had  never  looked  upon  the  wounded 
President  lost  their  reason  under  the  stress  of  it. 
Then  came  the  assurance  of  the  physicians  that 
the  President  would  live  and  the  pendulum 
swung  the  other  way.  There  was  praise  and 
thanksgiving  everywhere. 

In  full  confidence  that  the  President  would  re 
cover,  Vice-President  Eoosevelt  retired  into  the 
solitude  of  the  forests  to  add  his  supplications  to 
those  that  were  being  offered  up  to  the  Author  of 
All  from  every  pulpit,  as  well  as  from  every  fire- 


372  THEODOKE     ROOSEVELT. 

side  in  the  land,  for  the  President's  recovery. 
Nature  is  his  cathedral,  and  in  her  solitudes  he 
felt  himself  nearer  to  Him  who  holds  the  fate  of 
all  nations  and  all  peoples  in  the  hollow  of  His 
hand. 

When  the  relapse  came  and  the  physicians 
were  forced  reluctantly  to  inform  the  world  that 
the  President  could  live  but  a  few  hours,  a  mes 
sage  was  sent  to  inform  the  Vice-President.  He 
was  in  the  Adirondacks,  the  nearest  telegraph 
station  being  North  Creek,  New  York.  As  soon 
as  the  message  arrived  at  the  station  a  number 
of  guides  were  secured,  and,  having  been  given 
copies  of  the  dispatch,  were  hurried  away  in 
search  of  the  Vice-President.  One  of  them  found 
him  a  little  before  sundown  at  the  top  of  Mount 
Marcy  and  delivered  the  sorrowful  summons. 
The  Vice-President  immediately  started  for  the 
Tahawas  Club,  some  miles  distant.  From  the 
club-house  to  North  Creek  station  it  is  thirty-five 
miles.  He  reached  there  'at  5 :21  the  following 
morning  and  went  at  once  aboard  a  special  train 
that  was  being  held  in  readiness  for  him.  At 
seven  o'clock  the  party  was  in  Albany,  where 
Vice-President  Roosevelt  was  officially  informed 
by  Secretary  of  State  Hay  of  the  death  of  Presi 
dent  McKinley. 


THE    MOUNTAIN    GUIDE    FINDS    MR.    ROOSEVELT    IN    THE   ADIRONDACKS,    AND 
SUMMONS    HIM    TO   THE    DYING    PRESIDENT'S   BEDSIDE 


SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY.  373 

The  journey  from  Albany  was  continued  over 
the  New  York  Central  Eailroad.  The  special 
train  was  rushed  across  the  State,  arriving  in 
Buffalo  at  1 :35  P.M.  Instead  of  alighting  at  the 
Union  station,  where  there  was  sure  to  be  a  crowd 
assembled,  Mr.  Roosevelt  left  the  train  at  the 
Terrace  station,  where  he  was  met  by  Mr.  Ansley 
Wilcox  and  Mr.  George  Williams,  with  Mr.  Will 
iams  '  carriage,  together  with  a  detachment  of  the 
Fourth  Signal  Corps  and  a  squad  of  twenty 
mounted  police.  With  the  police  and  the  mili 
tary  moving  at  a  rapid  trot  in  front  of  the  car 
riage  and  behind  it,  Mr.  Roosevelt  drove  swiftly 
up  Delaware  avenue  to  the  house  No.  641,  which 
has  now  become  one  of  the  historic  mansions  of 
the  country. 

It  is  a  brick  house,  painted  white,  with  a  row 
of  six  stately  pillars  in  front  of  a  deep  veranda,  in 
the  old-fashioned  style  of  a  hundred  years  ago. 
It  is  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  beauti 
ful  Delaware  avenue,  and  is  surrounded  by  tall, 
overbranching  trees,  which  throw  a  deep  shade 
upon  the  handsome  lawn  all  the  way  down  to  the 
terrace,  five  or  six  feet  high,  which  rises  from 
the  sidewalk,  and  upon  which  elevation  above  the 
street  the  house  stands. 


374  THEODOEE    KOOSEVELT. 

Away  back  in  the  early  part  of  last  century 
the  house  was  used  by  the  United  States  officers 
in  command  of  the  military  post  at  Buffalo,  and 
stood  in  a  large  park  or  square  that  was  a  part  of 
the  military  reservation. 

The  people  who  gathered  about  the  house  as 
the  cavalcade  came  clattering  up  stood  by  in 
silence  as  the  Vice-President  left  the  carriage, 
walked  rapidly  up  the  terrace  steps  and  en 
tered  the  house.  The  people  of  Buffalo  had 
stood  silent  for  so  many  days,  as  if  listening  for 
the  heart-beats  in  that  wounded  body  of  the  mar 
tyred  President  lying  in  the  Milburn  house,  that 
the  least  word  seemed  an  intrusion  on  the  prayer 
ful  silence.  There  was  none  spoken  now  as  the 
man  on  whose  shoulders  had  suddenly  fallen  all 
the  burdens  of  State  passed  among  them.  Only 
the  uncovered  heads,  bowed  low,  paid  tribute  to 
the  dignity  of  his  great  office. 

Vice-President  Koosevelt  remained  in  the 
house  but  a  few  moments.  His  first  thought  was 
of  the  woman  whose  ever-loving  and  gentle  help 
mate  had  been  suddenly  taken  away,  and  he 
started  at  once  to  pay  his  respects  to  her,  and 
offer  what  consolation  lay  in  his  power.  As  he 
returned  to  the  carriage  his  eye  lighted  on  the 


SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY.  375 

military  and  police  escort  still  drawn  up  in  the 
street. 

"Send  them  away,"  he  said  quickly,  "I  do 
not  like  the  idea  of  a  guard. ? ' 

As  he  turned  to  enter  the  carriage  the  Vice- 
President  saw  that  his  wishes  in  reference  to  the 
escort  were  being  disregarded.  The  military 
was  lining  up  behind  the  carriage. 

"Halt,"  he  said.  He  spoke  low  and  quietly, 
but  there  was  a  military  ring  in  the  voice  that 
commanded  obedience.  "I  will  not  have  a  mili 
tary  guard,"  he  said.  "These  two  policemen 
may  go  with  us  if  you  think  best.  No  more." 
The  orders  were  obeyed  this  time,  and  the  car 
riage  moved  away  with  no  other  escort  than  the 
two  policemen,  one  riding  on  either  side. 

Nearly  all  the  Cabinet  ministers  were  at  the 
Milburn  house  when  Vice-President  Koosevelt 
arrived,  but  he  met  them  only  as  a  private  citizen 
mourning  the  loss  of  a  very  dear  friend.  The 
hour  was  too  full  of  grief  for  words  and  the  Vice- 
President,  after  a  few  moments,  returned  to  the 
Wilcox  residence.  He  was  followed  soon  after 
by  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  at  their 
request  took  the  oath  of  office  which  made  him 
President  of  the  United  States. 


376  THEODORE     ROOSEVELT. 

The  new  President  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
first  magistrate  of  the  land  in  the  library  of  the 
Wilcox  home.  The  room  was  rather  small,  but 
picturesque,  with  heavy  oak  trimmings,  and  mas 
sive  bookcases  lining  the  walls.  Those  present 
when  Mr.  Eoosevelt  took  the  oath  were:  Elihu 
Eoot,  Secretary  of  War ;  Ethan  Allen  Hitchcock, 
Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  John  D.  Long,  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy ;  Charles  Emory  Smith,  Post 
master-General;  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
Haight;  Mr.  John  N.  Scatcherd;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ansley  Wilcox;  Miss  Wilcox;  Mr.  George  P. 
Sawyer ;  Doctors  Mann,  Park  and  Stockton ;  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Carleton  Sprague ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
G.  Milburn ;  Secretary  to  the  President,  Mr.  Will 
iam  Loeb,  Jr. ;  Secretary  to  the  deceased  Presi 
dent,  Mr.  George  B.  Cortelyou;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chas.  Carey;  Mr.  E.G.  Scatcherd;  Mr.  J.D.  Saw 
yer,  and  Mr.  William  Jeffers,  official  telegrapher, 
in  addition  to  Judge  John  E.  Hazel,  of  the  United 
States  District  Court,  who  administered  the  oath. 

The  scene  was  a  most  affecting  one.  Secre 
tary  Eoot,  who,  twenty  years  before,  had  been 
present  at  a  similar  scene,  when  Vice-President 
Arthur  took  the  oath  after  the  death  of  President 
Garfield,  almost  broke  down  when  he  requested 


LIBRARY   OF    MR.    ANSLEY   WILCOX   AT    BUFFALO,    WHERE    PRESIDENT    ROOSEVELT 
TOOK   THE   OATH    OF   OFFICE 


SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  PKESIDENCY.  377 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  on  behalf  of  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  to  take  the  prescribed  oath.  There  were 
tears  in  the  eyes  of  all  when  Mr.  Roosevelt,  stand 
ing  in  the  pretty  bay  window,  with  its  stained 
glass  and  heavy  hangings  forming  a  soft  back 
ground,  lifted  his  hand  to  take  the  sublime  obli 
gation.  He  was  pale,  and  his  eyes  were  dim  with 
tears,  but  the  uplifted  hand  was  as  steady  as 
though  carved  in  marble.  Then  in  low,  but  firm 
tones,  he  repeated  after  Judge  Hazel  the  consti 
tutional  oath  of  office : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  pre 
serve,  protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States." 

With  the  final  words  the  hand  of  the  speaker 
dropped  to  his  side  and  for  an  instant  his  head 
was  bowed  as  if  for  the  Divine  blessing.  The 
impressive  silence  was  broken  by  Judge  Hazel: 

"Mr.  President,  please  attach  your  signa 
ture.  ' '  Turning  to  a  small  table  he  wrote ' '  Theo 
dore  Roosevelt"  at  the  bottom  of  the  prepared 
parchment.  Then  standing  erect,  the  solemn 
dignity  of  the  great  office  upon  him,  he  said 
slowly : 


378  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

"In  this  hour  of  deep  and  terrible  bereave 
ment,  I  wish  to  state  that  it  shall  be  my  aim  to 
continue  absolutely  unbroken  the  policy  of  Presi 
dent  McKinley  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  and 
honor  of  our  beloved  country." 

The  President  then  invited  the  members  of 
the  Cabinet  present  to  remain  in  office,  urging 
upon  them  the  necessity  of  their  doing  so  that  he 
might  the  more  fully  carry  out  his  pledge.  He 
said  he  had  been  assured  that  the  absent  members 
of  the  Cabinet  would  retain  their  portfolios. 
After  a  moment's  consultation  among  themselves 
the  Secretaries  informed  the  President  that  they 
had  decided  to  forego  the  usual  custom  of  pre 
senting  their  resignations  and  would  remain  as 
he  had  requested. 

Thus  President  Roosevelt,  at  the  very  outset, 
paid  the  highest  possible  tribute  to  the  late  Presi 
dent  McKinley 's  genius  and  worth  by  adopting 
his  policy  and  expressing  his  intention  of  carry 
ing  out  all  his  plans  of  a  public  nature  that  he 
had  outlined  in  any  way. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CHIEF   EXECUTIVE  OF   THE   NATION. 

PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT  TAKES  THE  HELM  OF  GOVERNMENT  IN 
WASHINGTON  — FIRST  OFFICIAL  ACT— AIMS  TO  BREAK  UP  SOLID 
SOUTH  BY  NEW  METHODS  — SUMMONS  BOOKER  T.  WASHINGTON 
TO  A  CONFERENCE  — APPOINTS  REFORM  DEMOCRATS  TO  OFFICE  — 
FRIEND  OF  LABOR. 

President  Roosevelt  brought  to  the  duties  of 
his  high  office  a  personality  with  which  the  poli 
ticians  of  his  party  found  at  once  they  had  to 
deal,  whether  or  not  they  wished  to  do  so. 
All  the  character-building  of  his  life  since,  when 
a  delicate  boy,  he  had  been  inspired  to  virtue  by 
the  glorious  writings  of  that  sage,  Plutarch, 
through  the  years  of  struggle  and  adventure 
faintly  chronicled  in  the  previous  chapters  of 
this  book,  up  to  this  most  important  epoch  in  his 
remarkable  career,  now  resulted  in  a  poise  that 
marked  him  at  once  as  a  wise  man  of  lofty  vision 
and  patriotic  motives ;  a  man  to  whom  the  word 
duty  meant  more  than  all  else  in  life :  duty  to  God, 
duty  to  country,  duty  to  man,  duty  to  home.  His 

379 


380  THEODOKE    KOOSEVELT. 

initial  acts  when  lie  had  taken  in  his  hands  the 
helm  of  government  answered  to  his  nature, 
growth  and  development  as  the  overture  of  a 
grand  opera  answers  to  the  theme  that  has  gone 
to  its  creation.  "I  am  going  to  be  President  of  the 
United  States  and  not  of  any  section, "  was  his 
first  declaration  to  the  politicians.  ' '  I  don 't  care 
the  snap  of  my  fingers  for  sections  or  sectional 
lines. "  To  a  group  of  Southern  members  of 
Congress  he  said:  "When  I  was  Governor  of 
New  York  I  was  told  I  could  make  four  appoint 
ments  in  the  army.  When  I  sent  in  the  names 
three  of  the  four  men  were  from  the  South  and 
the  other  was  from  New  York.  They  were  brave 
men,  who  deserved  recognition  for  services  in 
the  Spanish  War,  and  it  did  not  matter  to  me 
what  States  they  were  from. ' ' 

The  first  official  act  of  importance  performed 
by  President  Eoosevelt  following  the  initial  Cab 
inet  meeting,  was  signing  the  papers  appoint 
ing  Mr.  William  Barrett  Ridgley,  of  Springfield, 
Illinois,  Comptroller  of  the  Currency.  The  office 
had  been  previously  held  by  Charles  Gates 
Dawes,  of  Chicago,  who  had  resigned  to  enter  the 
race  for  United  States  Senator.  President  Mc- 
Kinley  had  already  announced  his  intention  of 


CHIEF    EXECUTIVE.  381 

appointing  Mr.  Ridgley  and  President  Roosevelt 
gave  an  earnest  of  Ms  intention  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  his  predecessor  at  the  first  opportunity. 
His  next  step  was  to  prove  his  fealty  to  the 
merit  system.  This  he  did  in  a  most  characteris 
tic  way.  Booker  T.  Washington  was  invited  to 
come  to  Washington  and  give  his  views  to  the 
President  concerning  the  best  way  to  reform  the 
political  abuses  of  the  South.  Mr.  Washington 
is  a  negro,  but  in  the  founder  of  the  Tuskegee 
industrial  school  for  the  people  of  his  race,  and 
in  his  manner  of  conducting  it  President  Roose 
velt  discovered  a  kindred  spirit,  one  who  believed 
in  beginning  at  the  root  of  things  and  working 
toward  a  definite  end  along  practical  lines.  He 
knew  Professor  Washington  to  have  a  better 
understanding  of  the  affairs  of  the  South  than 
almost  any  other  living  man.  He  also  had  reason 
to  believe  in  his  honesty  and  was  convinced  of 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment.  The  President 
was  not  looking  for  prejudiced  opinion,  but  for 
honest,  outspoken  counsel.  He  was  seeking  truth, 
and  his  sincerity  and  fearlessness  in  pursuit  of 
it  were  never  better  exemplified  than  when  he 
asked  advice  from  this  representative  of  an  infe 
rior  race. 


382  THEODORE    EOOSEVELT. 

When  Booker  T.  Washington  arrived  in  the 
capital  of  the  United  States  upon  the  invitation 
of  the  President,  he  went,  as  was  his  custom,  to 
a  small  hotel  kept  for  negroes,  named  the  South 
ern.  All  the  more  pretentious  hotels  in  the  capi 
tal  were  closed  to  negroes,  even  though  it  might 
be  one  honored  by  the  President  with  a  summons 
that  would  have  turned  the  head  of  many  a  public 
man  high  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  To  this 
hotel  President  Roosevelt  sent  a  summons  from 
the  White  House.  The  President  of  the  United 
States  sought  this  negro,  not  because  he  was  a 
negro,  but  because  he  was  an  old  friend,  whose 
judgment  he  regarded  as  better  than  that  of  most 
men  on  some  questions  which  were  of  great 
importance  to  him  as  Chief  Executive  of  the 
United  States.  The  problem  he  had  in  mind  was 
the  distribution  of  federal  patronage  in  the 
Southern  States.  Twenty-five  years  of  expe 
rience  had  not  improved  the  political  situation  in 
the  South.  The  distribution  of  federal  patron 
age,  albeit  through  no  fault  of  the  President  who 
had  distributed  it,  had  become  a  scandal  which 
honest  citizens  of  all  sections  deplored,  but  for 
which  no  adequate  remedy  had  been  found.  This 
patronage  had  been  the  bone  of  profit  over  which 


CHIEF   EXECUTIVE.  383 

the  so-called  leaders  of  both  parties  snarled  and 
fought,  paying  no  heed  to  those  questions  which 
were  so  vital  to  the  interests  of  the  people  they 
pretended  to  serve.  For  all  their  boasted 
strength  these  men  had  rather  weakened  than 
strengthened  the  parties  for  which  they  stood. 
It  was  to  their  advantage  to  do  so.  Democrats 
and  Kepublicans  alike  had  used  the  patronage 
placed  in  their  hands  to  keep  down  party  follow 
ing  rather  than  build  it  up.  They  did  not  desire 
a  large  party  following,  because  that  meant  more 
ambitious  party  workers  entitled  to  a  share  in  the 
spoil. 

Beside  the  two  dominant  parties  in  the  South 
there  were,  in  the  Eepublican  party  at  least,  two 
factions  that  were  as  bitterly  opposed  to  each 
other  as  the  rival  parties  could  possibly  be.  Each 
faction  claimed  to  control  the  negro  vote,  and 
when  it  came  to  Presidential  nominations  the  fac 
tion  that  espoused  the  cause  of  the  winning  can 
didate  demanded  the  distribution  of  all  the  offices. 
They  were  opposed  by  the  other  faction  in  every 
act,  and  nothing  was  done  or  left  undone  that 
did  not  provoke  bitter  opposition. 

All  this  was  familiar  to  President  Roosevelt. 
He  had  seen  it  exemplified  in  every  national  con- 


364  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

vention  for  twenty  years.  In  the  campaign  of 
1896  these  two  factions  of  white  Republican  lead 
ers  had  espoused  the  cause  of  McKinley  or  that  of 
Eeed.  The  party  conventions  were  mere  strug 
gles  for  control  by  the  leaders.  The  negro  voters 
would  have  been  satisfied  with  either  McKinley 
or  Reed  for  the  candidate.  But  when  the  former 
was  nominated  and  elected,  the  white  men  who 
had  supported  him  in  convention  claimed  con 
trol  of  the  federal  patronage.  This  was  not  dif 
ferent  from  the  claims  of  politicians  in  other 
States.  The  difference  appeared  in  the  fact  that 
these  few  white  men  claimed  the  offices  them 
selves.  They  did  not  recommend  negroes  to 
office.  What  right  had  the  negro  to  an  office? 
The  spoils  belonged  to  those  who  controlled  the 
negro  vote  and  not  to  the  negro  who  gave  the  vote 
to  his  controller. 

These  white  leaders  were  professional  politi 
cians.  They  lived  by  politics,  and  when  they 
were  on  the  winning  side,  fed  well.  When  they 
were  out  they  made  up  for  their  hunger  by  abus 
ing  those  who  were  in.  There  had  been  in  each 
Southern  State  about  twice  as  many  Republican 
politicians  as  there  were  federal  offices.  There 
were  two  white  men  claiming  each  available 


1! 


CHIEF    EXECUTIVE.  385 

place,  and  contesting  for  it.  The  one  that  got  it 
was  the  other 's  political  enemy,  fighting  him 
during  the  administration.  The  man  who  was 
out  tried  to  destroy  the  man  who  was  in.  These 
contests  between  professional  office-seekers  who 
claimed  to  control  the  negro  vote  had  made  the 
whole  subject  of  federal  patronage  in  the  South  a 
public  scandal. 

These  white  leaders  had  not  strengthened  the 
Republican  party  in  the  South.  On  the  contrary, 
they  had  weakened  it.  The  white  leaders  desired 
to  keep  the  Eepublican  party  a  negro  party  under 
their  control,  because  they  could  use  the  preju 
dice  against  the  negro  to  prevent  him  from  seek 
ing  office,  and  leave  the  whole  question  of  patron 
age  to  them. 

President  Roosevelt's  purpose  was  to  change 
all  this  and,  if  possible,  make  the  South  as  free 
politically  as  the  North,  at  least.  In  the  merit 
system  he  saw  a  way  to  reform  the  present  abuse. 
He  proposed  to  put  the  office-seeker  from  the 
South  to  the  same  test  as  the  office-seeker  from 
the  North.  He  wanted  primarily  good  men  for 
office-holders.  He  wanted  the  postmaster  named 
for  any  town  or  community  to  possess  the  confi 
dence  of  the  people  he  served.  He  wanted  men 


386  THEODOKE     ROOSEVELT. 

of  good  ability  and  good  reputation  for  collect 
ors,  marshals  and  judges.  He  did  not  care 
whether  they  controlled  the  negro  vote  or  not. 
He  preferred  they  should  not  come  with  such  a 
claim.  He  doubted  the  qualifications  of  such  men 
for  office.  He  did  not  propose  to  ignore  the  negro 
in  politics.  The  negroes  had  been  ignored  by  the 
men  who  pretended  to  lead  them,  and  this  the 
President  desired  to  correct  in  so  far  as  he  was 
able. 

For  these  reasons  he  sent  for  Booker  T. 
Washington.  He  felt  he  could  trust  this  man. 
And  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the 
son  of  a  slave  sat  for  several  hours  in  the  White 
House  discussing  problems  of  the  greatest  im 
portance  to  future  generations  of  both  races. 
And  when  they  parted  the  negro  bore  in  his  hand 
an  invitation  to  ex-Governor  Thomas  Goode 
Jones,  of  Alabama,  a  Democrat,  to  accept  the 
appointment  of  a  district  judgeship. 

"If  I  cannot  make  the  Republican  party  in 
the  South  the  dominant  party,  I  can  at  least  make 
it  respectable, ' '  the  President  is  reported  to  have 
said.  "I  can  appoint  good  men  to  office,  even 
though  I  have  to  select  Democrats. "  He  de 
manded  that  the  men  appointed  to  federal  offices 


CHIEF    EXECUTIVE.  387 

should  be  men  above  reproach,  and  that  their 
appointments  should  be  made  without  regard  to 
the  race  question.  Professor  Washington  told 
President  Roosevelt  that  he  could  not  recommend 
a  single  man  for  appointment,  but  he  named  some 
men  in  whom  he  saw  the  qualities  necessary  to 
the  settlement  of  the  grave  questions  confronting 
the  nation  in  the  South.  Those  men  were  Demo 
crats.  They  had  acted  with  the  Democratic 
party,  not  because  they  believed  in  its  national 
politics,  but  because  they  would  not  act  under  the 
leadership  of  patronage  brokers  who  controlled 
the  Republican  organization  in  their  States. 

Professor  Washington  convinced  President 
Roosevelt  that  some  of  these  men  saw  the  danger 
to  popular  government  in  the  present  system, 
and  that  they  were  patriotic  enough  to  help  him 
to  change  it  for  a  better  system.  The  President 
decided  to  try  and  build  up  a  Republican  party 
in  the  South  that  should  be  self-respecting  and 
independent.  His  first  move  in  that  direction 
was  the  message  to  ex-Senator  Jones.  As  soon 
as  he  was  assured  that  the  appointment  would  be 
accepted  the  President  tendered  the  district 
judgeship  to  the  patriotic  and  able  citizen  of  Ala 
bama.  In  doing  this  President  Roosevelt  chal- 


388  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

lenged  all  the  precedents  of  party,  and  struck  out 
on  new  and  original  lines.  Judge  Jones 's  qualifi 
cations  for  the  office  were  of  the  best,  and  no  com 
plaint  could  be  made  on  that  score.  But  the  fact 
that  President  Roosevelt,  at  the  very  outset  of 
his  administration,  should  make  such  a  wide 
departure  from  the  practice  previously  adhered 
to,  caused  great  consternation  in  the  camps  of  the 
professional  politicians,  both  North  and  South, 
and  the  President  was  deluged  with  protests 
from  all  quarters.  But  Mr.  Roosevelt  took  no 
further  heed  of  this  demand  of  the  partisans  who 
still  clung  to  the  theory  that  "to  the  victors 
belong  the  spoils ' '  than  he  had  to  the  same  class 
of  men  who  appealed  to  him  when  he  was  Police 
Commissioner  of  New  York.  He  replied  that  the 
merit  system  was  as  binding  on  the  President  of 
the  United  States  as  on  the  head  of  any  of  the 
departments,  and  proceeded  in  his  search  for 
able,  honest  and  sincere  men  to  fill  the  offices. 

President  Roosevelt  carried  into  his  work  at 
Washington  all  the  tireless  industry  that  had  dis 
tinguished  him  in  every  vocation.  He  was  at  his 
desk  at  9 :30  in  the  morning  and  gave  himself  no 
rest  until  4 :30  in  the  afternoon,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  a  short  break  at  the  noon  hour,  when  he 


CHIEF    EXECUTIVE.  389 

walked  home  for  luncheon.  A  correspondent 
thus  describes  the  President's  activities: 

"  President  Roosevelt  is  out  of  bed  by  7 
o'clock  and  as  a  rule  is  at  the  breakfast  table 
shortly  after  8  o'clock.  He  leaves  for  the  White 
House  as  soon  as  breakfast  is  over.  Once  he  is  in 
his  big  working  room  things  begin  to  buzz.  Mr. 
William  Loeb,  who  is  in  reality  his  secretary,  his 
stenographer  and  his  confidential  friend,  hands 
him  the  letters  necessary  for  him  to  see.  These 
he  reads,  dictates  replies  and  sees  visitors  all 
at  the  same  time. ' ' 

This  was  during  the  first  few  days  in  Wash 
ington,  while  he  was  making  his  home  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Commander  Cowles,  of  the  navy. 
Meanwhile  the  children  were  investigating  the 
rooms  in  the  executive  mansion,  which  was  to  be 
their  future  home.  They  ran  up  and  down  the 
long  halls,  rode  in  the  elevators,  chose  the  coziest 
corners  for  their  future  playing  grounds,  and 
enjoyed  themselves  as  only  children  can  when 
taking  possession  of  things  that  are  new  and 
strange.  Both  the  President  and  Mrs.  Roosevelt 
believe  in  giving  the  children  as  much  liberty  as 
possible,  trusting  to  wise  instruction  beforehand 
to  keep  them  within  bounds,  and  there  are  few 


390  THEODORE     EOOSEVELT. 

families  in  the  world  where  gladness  is  so  pro 
nounced  as  in  this  household.  Jacob  A.  Riis,  who 
has  long  been  a  close  friend  of  President  Roose 
velt,  writes  thus  simply  and  familiarly  of  him  to 
the  Sunday  School  Times:  "He  is  far  from 
being  a  hard  man.  His  heart  is  as  tender  as  a 
woman's  where  it  may  be,  as  hard  as  steel  where 
it  must  be.  He  loves  his  children  as  William 
McKinley  did.  When  he  was  Police  Commis 
sioner  of  New  York,  we  would  sometimes  go 
together  to  the  Italian  school  of  the  Children's 
Aid  Society,  or  some  kindred  place,  and  I  loved 
of  all  things  to  hear  him  talk  to  the  little  ones. 
They  did,  too.  I  fancy  he  left  behind  him  on 
every  one  of  those  trips  a  streak  of  little  patriots 
to  whom,  as  they  grow  up,  their  hour  with 
' Teddy'  will  be  a  whole  manual  of  good  citizen 
ship.  I  know  one  little  girl  out  on  Long  Island 
who  is  to-day  hugging  the  thought  of  the  hand 
shake  he  gave  her  as  the  most  precious  of  her 
memories.  And  so  do  I,  for  I  saw  him  spy  her— 
poor,  pale  little  thing,  in  her  threadbare  jacket- 
way  back  in  the  crowd  of  school  children  that 
swarmed  about  his  train,  and  I  saw  him  dash 
into  the  surging  tide  like  a  strong  swimmer  strik 
ing  out  from  the  shore,  make  a  way  through  the 


CHIEF    EXECUTIVE.  391 

shouting  mob  of  youngsters  clear  to  where  she 
was  on  the  outskirts,  looking  on  hopelessly,  lift 
and  shake  her  hand  as  if  his  very  heart  were  in 
it,  and  then  catch  the  moving  train  on  the  run, 
while  she  looked  after  it,  her  face  one  big,  happy 
smile.  That  was  Koosevelt,  every  inch  of  him. 

"Is  such  a  man  safe  as  the  executive  of  this 
country  of  blessed  homes  ?  His  own  is  one  of  the 
happiest  I  know  of,  for  love  is  at  the  helm.  It  is 
his  harbor  of  refuge,  which  he  insists  on  preserv 
ing  sacred  to  him  and  his,  whatever  storms  rage 
without.  And  in  this  also  he  is  faithful  to  the 
highest  of  American  ideals,  to  his  country 's  best 
traditions.  The  only  time  I  saw  him  so  angry 
as  to  nearly  lose  his  temper  was  when  he  was 
told  that  his  enemies  in  the  police  department, 
who  never  grasped  the  kind  of  man  they  had  to 
do  with,  or  were  able  to  do  it,  were  shadowing 
him  nightly  from  his  office  to  his  home,  thinking 
to  catch  him  in  some  wrong.  He  flushed  hotly: 

"  'What,'  ne  said,  'going  home  to  my 
babies  ? '  But  his  anger  died  in  a  sad  little  laugh 
of  contempt.  That  was  their  way,  not  his.  When, 
soon  after,  the  opportunity  came  to  him  to  pay 
them  back  in  their  own  coin,  he  spurned  it  with 
loathing.  He  fought  fair  even  with  scoundrels. 


392  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

"That  kind  of  a  man  is  he  who  has  now 
become  the  chief  of  our  great  nation.  A  just  man 
and  fair ;  a  man  of  duty  and  principle,  never  by 
any  chance  of  expediency,  political  or  personal ; 
a  reverent  man  of  few  public  professions,  but  of 
practice,  private  and  public,  ever  in  accord  with 
the  highest  ideals  of  Christian  manliness.  In 
fact,  I  know  of  no  one  who  typifies  better  the 
Christian  gentleman." 

This  is  the  tribute  of  a  man  who  knows  the 
President  as  well  as  one  man  can  know  another. 
They  worked  together  for  two  years  trying  to 
crush  out  vice  and  banish  poverty  from  the 
unfortunate  of  the  great  city  of  New  York.  It 
was  a  place  to  try  men's  souls,  and  whatever  was 
bad  or  dangerous  in  a  man  was  sure  to  come  out 
there.  And  he  who  was  his  close  companion 
through  that  battle  of  morals  against  vice  de 
clares:  "In  no  man's  hands  that  lives  and  owns 
American  citizenship  to-day  are  the  country's 
honor  and  welfare  safer  than  in  Theodore  Roose 
velt  's." 

One  of  the  first  men  to  have  the  ear  of  Presi 
dent  Eoosevelt  was  Leonard  A.  Wood,  Governor- 
General  of  Cuba.  They  had  been  comrades  since 
they  first  met  in  Washington,  when  neither  had 


CHIEF   EXECUTIVE.  393 

any  great  chances  for  political  preferment.  They 
had  gone  out  to  war  together,  and  now  they  sat 
in  the  White  House,  the  one  at  the  top  of  the  lad 
der,  and  the  other  with  like  responsibilities  of 
a  less  weight  upon  his  shoulders.  President 
Roosevelt  expressed  a  great  desire  to  know  as 
much  as  possible  about  the  situation  in  Cuba.  He 
believed  in  giving  the  Cubans  full  power  over 
their  country,  and  then  leaving  it  to  them  whether 
they  should  finally  become  a  part  of  the  United 
States  or  not. 

President  Roosevelt  welcomed  the  representa 
tives  of  labor,  and  told  them  he  was  anxious  to 
talk  with  them,  to  know  their  plans,  to  help  them 
in  every  way  to  better  the  condition  of  honest 
toil.  He  gave  ready  audience  to  every  citizen 
who  came  to  him  with  any  purpose,  being  as 
democratic  in  his  ideas  and  practice  as  it  is  pos 
sible  for  any  one  to  be.  In  a  word,  he  was  carry 
ing  out  his  promise  concerning  the  policy  of  his 
predecessor,  and  at  the  same  time  fulfilling  the 
pledge  he  made  to  the  country  that  he  was 
"going  to  be  President  of  the  United  States. " 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  FUTURE. 

WHAT  MAY  REASONABLY  BE  EXPECTED  FROM  SUCH  A  PRESIDENT 
OF  SUCH  A  NATION— BELIEVING  IN  THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE 
AND  AMERICAN  CONTROL  OF  THE  CANAL  AT  THE  ISTHMUS,  IN 
RECIPROCITY  AND  EXPANSION,  MR.  ROOSEVELT  IS  STRONG, 
UPRIGHT,  HONEST  AND  AGGRESSIVE,  AND  IMPLICITLY  TRUSTED 
BY  A  UNITED  PEOPLE— AMERICA 'S  GOLDEN  ERA. 

The  life  of  a  nation  is  much  like  the  life  of  a 
man.  It  begins  with  an  infancy  of  weakness,  of 
reliance  upon  others,  a  seeking  for  guidance  in 
the  experience  of  those  who  are  older,  in  the  con 
servation  of  all  the  forces  available,  and  the 
development  to  a  strength  which  is  not  taken 
seriously  by  the  neighbor  nations  of  the  earth. 
Extension  of  territory  and  accumulation  of 
wealth  follow,  with  increasing  time  for  the  arts 
and  luxuries  which  opportunity  brings,  and  then 
the  serene  stages  where  full  growth  is  achieved, 
and  when  the  hot  passions  of  youth  have  faded 
into  the  dignified  serenity  of  established  position. 
In  this  period  is  the  nation's  peril.  Shakespeare 

394 


THE  FUTUKE.  395 

has  told  us  of  the  '  *  Seven  Ages  of  Man  " ;  of  the 
progress  from  infancy,  through  strength,  to  the 
period  of  decay,  when  human  senses  all  have 
vanished,  yet  life  still  lurks  in  the  slowly-pulsing 
heart;  and  after  that  comes  dissolution,  and  the 
gathering  again  of  elements  in  other  formations ; 
the  disappearance  of  factors  as  they  had  been 
known  before,  and  their  reassembling  in  newer 
combinings,  that  shall  begin  again  the  strange 
experiment  of  life.  Some  flash  into  glorious 
promise,  and  pass  before  that  promise  is  fulfilled. 
Some  linger  superfluous  upon  the  stage,  the  glow 
of  a  splendid  past  behind  them,  the  certainty  of 
extinction  before. 

So  with  the  nations  that  have  made  proces 
sion  across  the  page  of  history.  It  is  fair  to 
gather  from  the  record  of  those  that  have  van 
ished  some  rules  that  must  apply  to  those  that 
still  exist ;  for  those  departed  have  trod  one  way, 
and  all  their  exits  have  led  through  a  single  gate. 

This  nation  we  call  the  United  States  has  seen 
its  time  of  infancy.  It  passed  impetuous  boy 
hood  in  1812.  It  proved  adventurous  in  1848. 
It  came  to  quick  blows  in  its  full  maturity,  and 
reveled  in  the  exuberance  of  unmeasured  strength 
from  1861  to  1865.  Then  came  the  time  of  judg- 


396  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

ment,  of  serene  self-valuation,  of  conscious 
equality  with  any  other,  and  then  utility  arrived. 
Opportunity  was  seized— opportunity  was  made. 
All  the  resources  that  lay  in  the  land,  that  lurked 
in  the  air,  that  thrilled  in  the  brains  and  the 
hearts  of  men  were  developed,  until  the  nation  in 
wealth,  in  power  and  in  magnificence  stood  at  the 
very  apex  of  existence.  After  that  one  thing  of 
two  must  come.  In  Eome,  riches  and  culture 
crumbled  the  foundation  stones  of  empire ;  and 
she  who  from  her  seven  hills  had  ruled  the  world 
passed  through  the  gate,  and  was  buried  in  that 
cemetery  of  the  nations  beside  Greece,  and  Baby 
lon,  and  distant  Nineveh.  There  was  a  time  in 
each  when  its  armies  marched  whithersoever  they 
pleased,  and  when  its  ships  came  from  every  port 
in  the  known  world  with  gold  in  the  ingot,  with 
silks  in  the  bale.  But  a  nation  drunk  with  power 
or  debauched  with  vice  is  a  nation  diseased  and 
hurrying  on  to  death. 

Perhaps  no  country  in  the  whole  lapse  of  time 
has  possessed  the  genius,  the  wealth  or  the  power 
of  the  United  States  at  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century.  If  the  leaders  of  the  nation 
should  abandon  themselves  to  the  gratification  x>f 
sense,  if  the  corrosion  of  idleness  should  eat  at  the 


THE  FUTTOE.  397 

iron  of  vigor  and  the  wine  of  indulgence  dis 
solve  the  pearls  of  purity,  there  could  be  but  a 
single  ending  to  the  history  so  splendidly  begun, 
so  magnificently  maintained.  It  is  providential 
that  in  an  era  of  great  possibilities— for  either 
good  or  evil— the  happier  fate  should  be  assured 
by  the  rise  of  this  man ;  that  whatever  of  moral 
malaria  might  have  fastened  upon  the  civic 
health  of  the  people  was  corrected  by  the  pres 
ence  of  a  man  of  vigorous  right,  a  prophet  of  the 
strenuous  life,  a  citizen  who  teaches  the  doctrine 
* l  Trust  in  God,  and  help  yourself. "  It  is  provi 
dential  that  the  right  man  came  to  the  nation  at 
the  juncture  in  its  history  when  it  needed  nim. 
And  it  is  a  matter  worthy  of  reflection  that  his 
whole  life  seems  to  have  been  dedicated  to  a 
preparation  for  the  work  which  now  engrosses 
him.  Combined  in  his  veins,  as  Mrs.  Boylan  has 
well  said  in  her  splendid  poem,  runs  the  blood  of 
master  races.  He  comes  of  a  family  which  flour 
ished  on  American  soil  long  before  the  American 
nation  was  dreamed  of.  His  parentage,  his 
youth,  his  training,  his  education  up  to  arrival 
at  manhood,  have  all  been  steps  in  his  prepara 
tion,  as  clearly  as  was  the  anointing  with  oil 
which  set  apart  the  son  of  Jesse  for  the  throne  of 


398  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

Israel.  His  political  training,  his  experience  in 
office,  his  hunting,  his  conduct  of  business  affairs, 
his  virile,  manly  strength  and  heroic  soul— all 
are  the  attributes  which  the  man  of  the  hour 
needed— which  the  man  of  the  hour  must  have, 
or  the  opportunity  of  the  hour  will  have  vanished 
forever.  In  an  unusual  degree  the  arrival  of  this 
man,  so  equipped,  and  at  the  time,  is  of  the  very 
greatest  value  to  the  nation.  There  can  be  no 
tendency  to  idleness  or  enervation  while  the  in 
dustry  and  energy  of  such  a  man  provide  an 
incentive  to  worthy  deeds  for  the  youth  of 
America. 

Patrick  Henry,  in  that  wonderful  speech 
before  the  Virginia  convention,  said :  '  '  There  is 
but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet  are  guided,  and 
that  is  the  lamp  of  experience/'  The  citizen  of 
the  United  States  can  know  no  better  rule  by 
which  to  decide  what  shall  be  the  mission  and 
achievement  of  his  country  than  to  study  the  ten 
dency  of  the  past,  and  the  probable  course  of  the 
men  in  control  at  critical  stages.  America 's  his 
tory  is,  or  should  be,  in  the  possession  of  the  sons 
of  the  Republic.  It  has  been  a  steady  progress 
toward  a  definite  objective,  from  the  very  begin 
ning.  In  a  way,  that  progress  has  been  more  a 


THE  FUTUKE.  399 

result  of  extraordinary  conditions  than  of  cohe 
sive,  concerted  planning.  The  critical  time  came 
with  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century.  With 
power  at  the  flood,  with  influence  untried,  with 
every  faculty  up  to  maturity  fully  developed, 
there  waited  possibilities  for  immeasurable  good, 
for  unlimited  growth  abroad,  and  consequent 
unlimited  advancement  at  home;  or  the  proba 
bility  of  growth's  cessation— with  the  inevitable 
beginning  of  deterioration,  moral  and  physical, 
which  has  come  to  every  people  who,  content  with 
achievement,  has  abandoned  progress. 

With  that  history  and  tendency  known,  with 
the  mighty  forces  understood,  the  manner  of  men 
at  the  head  of  affairs  in  the  crisis  completes  the 
data  required  in  forming  judgment  as  to  what 
the  future  of  the  nation  shall  be.  Very  fortu 
nately,  Theodore  Roosevelt  has  placed  himself 
on  record  as  to  the  course  he  believes  his  country 
should  follow,  and  a  definite  pledge  as  to  the 
direction  in  which  his  influence  shall  be  exerted. 
At  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  he  delivered  a  speech 
September  2,  before  the  blow  at  his  chief  had  fal 
len  at  Buffalo;  and  in  those  lines  the  lamp  by 
which  the  student  may  be  guided  is  set  aflame. 


400  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

From  that  speech  the  following  illustrative  pas 
sages  are  taken : 

In  his  admirable  series  of  studies  of  twentieth-century 
problems,  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  has  pointed  out  that  we  are  a 
nation  of  pioneers;  that  the  first  colonists  to  our  shores  were 
pioneers,  and  that  pioneers  selected  out  from  among  the 
descendants  of  these  early  pioneers,  mingled  with  others  selected 
afresh  from  the  old  world,  pushed  westward  into  the  wilderness 
and  laid  the  foundations  for  new  commonwealths. 

They  were  men  of  hope  and  expectation,  of  enterprise  and 
energy;  for  the  men  of  dull  content  or  more  dull  despair  had 
no  part  in  the  great  movement  into  and  across  the  new  world. 

Our  country  has  been  populated  by  pioneers,  and  there 
fore  it  has  in  it  more  energy,  more  enterprise,  more  expansive 
power  than  any  other  in  the  wide  world. 

You  whom  I  am  now  addressing  stand  for  the  most  part 
but  one  generation  removed  from  these  pioneers.  You  are  typi 
cal  Americans,  for  you  have  done  the  great,  the  characteristic, 
the  typical  work  of  our  American  life.  In  making  homes  and 
carving  out  careers  for  yourselves  and  your  children,  you  have 
built  up  this  State.  Throughout  our  history  the  success  of  the 
homemaker  has  been  but  another  name  for  the  upbuilding  of 
the  nation. 

We  have  but  little  room  among  our  people  for  the  timid, 
the  irresolute,  and  the  idle;  and  it  is  no  less  true  that  there  is 
scant  room  in  the  world  at  large  for  the  nation  with  mighty 
thews  that  dares  not  to  be  great. 

Sometimes  we  hear  those  who  do  not  work  spoken  of  with 
envy.  Surely  the  wilfully  idle  need  arouse  in  the  breast  of  a 
healthy  man  no  emotion  stronger  than  that  of  contempt — at  the 
outside  no  emotion  stronger  than  angry  contempt.  The  feeling 
of  envy  would  have  in  it  an  admission  of  inferiority  on  our 
part,  to  which  the  men  who  know  not  the  sterner  joys  of  life 
are  not  entitled. 


if  r   -M 

PHfga«| 


THE  FUTURE.  401 

Poverty  is  a  bitter  thing,  but  it  is  not  as  bitter  as  the 
existence  of  restless  vacuity  and  physical,  moral  and  intellec 
tual  flabbiness  to  which  those  doom  themselves  who  elect  to 
spend  all  their  years  in  that  vainest  of  all  vain  pursuits,  the 
pursuit  of  mere  pleasure,  as  a  sufficient  end  in  itself. 

The  wilfully  idle  man,  like  the  wilfully  barren  woman,  has 
no  place  in  a  sane,  healthy  and  vigorous  community.  Moreover, 
the  gross  and  hideous  selfishness  for  which  each  stands  defeats 
even  its  own  miserable  aims.  Exactly  as  infinitely  the  happiest 
woman  is  she  who  has  borne  and  brought  up  many  healthy  chil 
dren,  so  infinitely  the  happiest  man  is  he  who  has  toiled  hard 
and  successfully  in  his  life  work. 

The  work  may  be  done  in  a  thousand  different  ways;  with 
the  brain  or  the  hands,  in  the  study,  the  field,  or  the  workshop ; 
if  it  is  honest  work,  honestly  done,  and  well  worth  doing,  that 
is  all  we  have  a  right  to  ask. 

Every  father  and  mother  here,  if  they  are  wise,  will  bring 
up  their  children  not  to  shirk  difficulties,  but  to  meet  and  over 
come  them;  not  to  strive  after  a  life  of  ignoble  ease,  but  to 
strive  to  do  their  duty,  first  to  themselves  and  their  families, 
and  then  to  the  whole  State;  and  this  duty  must  inevitably 
take  the  shape  of  work  in  some  form  or  other. 

It  is  not  possible  ever  to  insure  prosperity  merely  by  law. 
Something  for  good  can  be  done  by  law,  and  bad  laws  can  do 
an  infinity  of  mischief;  but,  after  all,  the  best  law  can  only 
prevent  wrong  and  injustice  and  give  to  the  thrifty,  the  far- 
seeing  and  the  hard-working  a  chance  to  exercise  to  the  best 
advantage  their  special  and  peculiar  abilities. 

No  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  laid  down  as  to  where  our 
legislation  shall  stop  in  interfering  between  man  and  man, 
between  interest  and  interest. 

All  that  can  be  said  is  that  it  is  highly  undesirable  on  the 
one  hand  to  weaken  individual  initiative,  and  on  the  other  hand 
that,  in  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  cases,  we  shall  find 


402  THEODOKE   ROOSEVELT. 

it  necessary  in  the  future  to  shackle  cunning  as  in  the  past  we 
have  shackled  force. 

It  is  not  only  highly  desirable,  but  necessary,  that  there 
should  be  legislation  which  shall  carefully  shield  the  interests 
of  wage-workers,  and  which  shall  discriminate  in  favor  of  the 
honest  and  humane  employer  by  removing  the  disadvantage 
under  which  he  stands  when  compared  with  unscrupulous  com 
petitors  who  have  no  conscience,  and  will  do  right  only  under 
fear  of  punishment. 

There  is  but  the  scantiest  justification  for  most  of  the 
outcry  against  the  men  of  wealth  as  such,  and  it  ought  to  be 
unnecessary  to  state  that  any  appeal  which  directly  or  indirectly 
leads  to  suspicion  and  hatred  among  ourselves,  which  tends  to 
limit  opportunity,  and,  therefore,  to  shut  the  door  of  success 
against  poor  men  of  talent,  and,  finally,  which  entails  the  pos 
sibility  of  lawlessness  and  violence,  is  an  attack  upon  the  fun 
damental  properties  of  American  citizenship. 

Our  interests  are  at  bottom  common;  in  the  long  run  we  go 
up  or  go  down  together. 

Yet  more  and  more  it  is  evident  that  the  State,  and,  if  nec 
essary,  the  nation,  has  got  to  possess  the  right  of  supervision 
and  control  as  regards  the  great  corporations  which  are  its 
creatures;  particularly  as  regards  the  great  business  combina 
tions  which  derive  a  portion  of  their  importance  from  the 
existence  of  some  monopolistic  tendency. 

The  right  should  be  exercised  with  caution  and  self-restraint, 
but  it  should  exist,  so  that  it  may  be  invoked  if  the  need  arises. 

So  much  for  our  duties,  each  to  himself  and  each  to  his 
neighbor,  within  the  limits  of  our  own  country.  But  our  coun 
try,  as  it  strides  forward  with  ever-increasing  rapidity  to  a  fore 
most  place  among  the  world  powers,  must  necessarily  find,  more 
and  more,  that  it  has  world  duties  also. 

There  are  excellent  people  who  believe  that  we  can  shirk 
these  duties  and  yet  retain  our  self-respect;  but  these  good 
people  are  in  error.  Other  good  people  seek  to  deter  us  from 


THE  FUTUEE.  403 

treading  the  path  of  hard  but  lofty  duty  by  bidding  us  remem 
ber  that  all  nations  that  have  achieved  greatness,  that  have 
expanded  and  played  their  part  as  world  powers,  have  in  the 
end  passed  away.  So  they  have;  so  have  all  others.  The  weak 
and  the  stationary  have  vanished  as  surely  as,  and  more  rapidly 
than,  those  whose  citizens  felt  within  them  the  life  that  impels 
generous  souls  to  great  and  noble  effort. 

This  is  another  way  of  stating  the  universal  law  of  death, 
which  is  itself  part  of  the  universal  law  of  life.  The  man  who 
works,  the  man  who  does  great  deeds,  in  the  end  dies  as  surely 
as  the  veriest  idler  who  cumbers  the  earth's  surface;  but  he 
leaves  behind  him  the  great  fact  that  he  has  done  his  work  well. 
So  it  is  with  nations.  While  the  nation  that  has  dared  to  be 
great,  that  has  had  the  will  and  the  power  to  change  the  destiny 
of  the  ages,  in  the  end  must  die,  yet  no  less  surely  the  nation 
that  has  played  the  part  of  the  weakling  must  also  die;  and, 
whereas  the  nation  that  has  done  nothing  leaves  nothing  behind 
it,  the  nation  that  has  done  a  great  work  really  continues,  though 
in  changed  form,  forevermore.  The  Eoman  has  passed  away, 
exactly  as  all  nations  of  antiquity  which  did  not  expand  when 
he  expanded  have  passed  away;  but  their  very  memory  has 
vanished,  while  he  himself  is  still  a  living  force  throughout  the 
wide  world  in  our  entire  civilization  of  to-day,  and  will  so  con 
tinue  through  countless  generations,  through  untold  ages. 

It  is  because  we  believe  with  all  our  heart  and  soul  in  the 
greatness  of  this  country,  because  we  feel  the  thrill  of  hardy 
life  in  our  veins,  and  are  confident  that  to  us  is  given  the  priv 
ilege  of  playing  a  leading  part  in  the  century  that  has  just 
opened,  that  we  hail  with  eager  delight  the  opportunity  to  do 
whatever  task  Providence  may  allot  us. 

We  admit  with  all  sincerity  that  our  first  duty  is  within  our 
own  household ;  that  we  must  not  merely  talk,  but  act,  in  favor 
of  cleanliness  and  decency  and  righteousness  in  all  political, 
social  and  civic  matters.  No  prosperity  and  no  glory  can  save 
a  nation  that  is  rotten  at  heart.  We  must  ever  keep  the  core 


404  THEODORE    ROOSEVELT. 

of  our  national  being  sound,  and  see  to  it  that  not  only  our 
citizens  in  private  life,  but  above  all,  our  statesmen  in  public 
life,  practice  the  old,  common-place  virtues  which  from  time 
immemorial  have  lain  at  the  root  of  all  true  national  well- 
being. 

Yet  while  this  is  our  first  duty,  it  is  not  our  whole  duty. 
Exactly  as  each  man,  while  doing  first  his  duty  to  his  wife  and 
the  children  within  his  home,  must  yet,  if  he  hopes  to  amount 
to  much,  strive  mightily  in  the  world  outside  his  home,  so  our 
nation,  while  first  of  all  seeing  to  its  own  domestic  well-being, 
must  not  shrink  from  playing  its  part  among  the  great  nations 
without. 

It  is  both  foolish  and  undignified  to  indulge  in  undue  self- 
glorification,  and  above  all  in  loose-tongued  denunciation  of 
other  peoples.  Whenever  on  any  point  we  come  in  contact  with 
a  foreign  power  I  hope  that  we  shall  always  strive  to  speak 
courteously  and  respectfully  of  that  foreign  power. 

Let  us  make  it  evident  that  we  intend  to  do  justice.  Then 
let  us  make  it  equally  evident  that  we  will  not  tolerate  injustice 
being  done  us  in  return. 

Let  us  further  make  it  evident  that  we  use  no  words  which 
we  are  not  prepared  to  back  up  with  deeds,  and  that,  while  our 
speech  is  always  moderate,  we  are  ready  and  willing  to  make  it 
good.  Such  an  attitude  will  be  the  surest  possible  guarantee  of 
that  self-respecting  peace,  the  attainment  of  which  is  and  must 
ever  be  the  prime  aim  of  a  self-governing  people. 

This  is  the  attitude  we  should  take  as  regards  the  Monroe 
doctrine.  There  is  not  the  least  need  of  blustering  about  it. 
Still  less  should  it  be  used  as  a  pretext  for  our  own  aggrandize 
ment  at  the  expense  of  any  other  American  State. 

But  most  emphatically  we  must  make  it  evident  that  we 
intend  on  this  point  ever  to  maintain  the  old  American  position. 
Indeed,  it  is  hard  to  understand  how  any  man  can  take  any 
other  position  now  that  we  are  all  looking  forward  to  the 
building  of  the  isthmian  canal. 


THE  FUTURE.  405 

Commercially,  as  far  as  this  doctrine  is  concerned,  all  we 
wish  is  a  fair  field  and  no  favor  j  but  if  we  are  *wise  we  shall 
strenuously  insist  that  under  no  pretext  whatsoever  shall  there 
be  any  territorial  aggrandizement  on  American  soil  by  any 
European  power,  and  this,  no  matter  what  form  the  territorial 
aggrandizement  may  take. 

We  most  earnestly  hope  and  believe  that  the  chance  of  our 
having  any  hostile  military  complication  with  any  foreign 
power  is  small.  But  that  there  will  come  a  strain,  a  jar,  here 
and  there,  from  commercial  and  agricultural— that  is,  from 
industrial — competition  is  almost  inevitable. 

Here,  again,  we  have  got  to  remember  that  our  first  duty  is 
to  our  own  people,  and  yet  that  we  can  get  justice  best  by 
doing  justice.  We  must  continue  the  policy  that  has  been  so 
brilliantly  successful  in  the  past,  and  so  shape  our  economic 
system  as  to  give  every  advantage  to  the  skill,  energy  and  intel 
ligence  of  our  farmers,  merchants,  manufacturers  and  wage- 
workers  ;  and  yet  we  must  also  remember,  in  dealing  with  other 
nations,  that  benefits  must  be  given  when  benefits  are  sought. 

Throughout  a  large  part  of  our  national  career  our  history 
has  been  one  of  expansion,  the  expansion  being  of  different 
kinds  at  different  times.  This  expansion  is  not  a  matter  of 
regret  but  of  pride.  It  is  vain  to  tell  a  people  as  masterful  as 
ours  that  the  spirit  of  enterprise  is  not  safe.  The  true  Ameri 
can  has  never  feared  to  run  risks  when  the  prize  to  be  won  was 
of  sufficient  value. 

No  nation  capable  of  self-government  and  of  developing  by 
its  own  efforts  a  sane  and  orderly  civilization,  no  matter  how 
small  it  may  be,  has  anything  to  fear  from  us.  Our  dealings 
with  Cuba  illustrate  this,  and  should  be  forever  a  subject  of 
just  national  pride. 

We  speak  in  no  spirit  of  arrogance  when  we  state  as  a  sim 
ple  historic  fact  that  never  in  recent  years  has  any  great  nation 
acted  with  such  disinterestedness  as  we  have  shown  in  Cuba. 
We  freed  the  island  from  the  Spanish  yoke.  We  then  earnestly 


406  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

did  our  best  to  help  the  Cubans  in  the  establishment  of  free 
education,  of  law  and  order,  of  material  prosperity,  of  the 
cleanliness  necessary  to  sanitary  well-being  in  their  great  cities. 

We  did  all  this  at  great  expense  of  treasure,  at  some  expense 
of  life;  and  now  we  are  establishing  them  in  a  free  and  inde 
pendent  commonwealth,  and  have  asked  in  return  nothing  what 
ever  save  that  at  no  time  shall  their  independence  be  prostituted 
to  the  advantage  of  some  foreign  rival  of  ours  or  so  as  to  men 
ace  our  well-being.  To  have  failed  to  ask  this  would  have 
amounted  to  national  stultification  on  our  part. 

In  the  Philippines  we  have  brought  peace,  and  we  are  at 
this  moment  giving  them  such  freedom  and  self-government 
as  they  could  never  under  any  conceivable  conditions  have 
obtained  had  we  turned  them  loose  to  sink  into  a  welter  of 
blood  and  confusion,  or  to  become  the  prey  of  some  strong 
tyranny  without  or  within.  We  are  not  trying  to  subjugate  a 
people;  we  are  trying  to  develop  them  and  make  them  a  law- 
abiding,  industrious  and  educated  people,  and  we  hope  ulti 
mately  a  self-governing  people.  We  have  done  our  duty  to 
ourselves,  and  we  have  done  the  higher  duty  of  promoting  the 
civilization  of  mankind. 

The  first  essential  of  civilization  is  law.  Anarchy  is  simply 
the  hand-maiden  and  forerunner  of  tyranny  and  despotism. 
Law  and  order  enforced  by  justice  and  by  strength  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  civilization.  Law  must  be  based  upon  justice, 
else  it  cannot  stand,  and  it  must  be  enforced  with  resolute 
firmness,  because  weakness  in  enforcing  it  means  in  the  end 
that  there  is  no  justice  and  no  law — nothing  but  the  rule  of 
disorderly  and  unscrupulous  strength. 

Without  the  habit  of  orderly  obedience  to  the  law,  without 
the  stern  enforcement  of  the  laws  at  the  expense  of  those  who 
defiantly  resist  them,  there  can  be  no  possible  progress,  moral 
or  material,  in  civilization.  There  can  be  no  weakening  of  the 
law-abiding  spirit  at  home  if  we  are  permanently  to  succeed; 
and  just  as  little  can  we  afford  to  show  weakness  abroad. 


THE  FUTUKE.  407 

Barbarism  has  and  can  have  no  place  in  a  civilized  world. 
It  is  our  duty  toward  the  people  living  in  barbarism  to  see  that 
they  are  freed  from  their  chains,  and  we  can  only  free  them  by 
destroying  barbarism  itself.  The  missionary,  the  merchant  and 
the  soldier  may  each  have  to  play  a  part  in  this  destruction  and 
in  the  consequent  uplifting  of  the  people. 

Exactly  as  it  is  the  duty  of  a  civilized  power  scrupulously 
to  respect  the  rights  of  all  weaker  civilized  powers  and  gladly 
to  help  those  who  are  struggling  toward  civilization,  so  it  is 
its  duty  to  put  down  savagery  and  barbarism. 

As  in  such  a  work  human  instruments  must  be  used,  and  as 
human  instruments  are  imperfect,  at  times  there  will  be  injus 
tice;  at  times  merchant,  or  soldier,  or  even  missionary  may  do 
wrong.  Let  us  instantly  condemn  and  rectify  such  wrong  when 
it  occurs,  and  if  possible  punish  the  wrongdoer.  But,  shame, 
thrice  shame  to  us  if  we  are  so  foolish  as  to  make  such  occa 
sional  wrongdoing  an  excuse  for  failing  to  perform  a  great  and 
righteous  task. 

So  it  must  be  in  the  future.  We  gird  up  our  loins  as  a 
nation  with  the  stern  purpose  to  play  our  part  manfully  in  win 
ning  the  ultimate  triumph,  and  therefore  we  turn  scornfully 
aside  from  the  paths  of  mere  ease  and  idleness  and  with 
unfaltering  steps  tread  the  rough  road  of  endeavor,  smiting 
down  the  wrong  and  battling  for  the  right  as  Greatheart  smote 
and  battled  in  Bunyan's  immortal  story. 

September  5, 1901,  the  day  before  his  assassi 
nation,  President  McKinley  delivered  a  speech 
at  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  in  Buffalo, 
which  fairly  and  clearly  expressed  his  view  of  the 
nation's  obligations  and  duties,  and  his  estimate 
of  the  Kepublic's  immeasurable  possibilities. 
The  address  has  become  prophetic.  The  views 


408  THEODOKE    ROOSEVELT. 

must  be  regarded  as  the  crystallized  sentiment 
of  the  nation,  and  the  policy  as  that  which  the 
American  people  will  resolutely  follow.  From 
that  notable  speech  these  words  are  chosen: 

Expositions  are  the  timekeepers  of  progress.  They  record 
the  world's  advancement.  They  stimulate  the  energy,  enter 
prise  and  intellect  of  the  people  and  quicken  human  genius. 
They  go  into  the  home.  They  broaden  and  brighten  the  daily 
life  of  the  people.  They  open  mighty  storehouses  of  informa 
tion  to  the  student.  To  the  commissioners  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  and  the  British  colonies,  the  French  colonies,  the  repub 
lics  of  Mexico  and  of  Central  and  South  America,  and  the 
commissioners  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Kico,  who  share  with  us  in 
this  undertaking,  we  give  the  hand  of  fellowship  and  felicitate 
with  them  upon  the  triumphs  of  art,  science,  education  and 
manufacture  which  the  old  has  bequeathed  to  the  new  century. 

Isolation  is  no  longer  possible  or  desirable.  The  same 
important  news  is  read,  though  in  different  languages,  the  same 
day  in  all  Christendom.  The  telegraph  keeps  us  advised  of 
what  is  occurring  everywhere,  and  the  press  foreshadows,  with 
more  or  less  accuracy,  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  nations. 
Market  prices  of  products  and  of  securities  are  hourly  known 
in  every  commercial  mart,  and  the  investments  of  the  people 
extend  beyond  their  own  national  boundaries  into  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  earth. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  not  a 
mile  of  steam  railroad  on  the  globe.  Now  there  are  enough 
miles  to  make  its  circuit  many  times.  Then  there  was  not  a 
line  of  electric  telegraph ;  now  we  have  a  vast  mileage  travers 
ing  all  lands  and  all  seas.  God  and  man  have  linked  the  nations 
together.  No  nation  can  longer  be  indifferent  to  any  other. 
And  as  we  are  brought  more  and  more  in  touch  with  each  other 
the  less  occasion  is  there  for  misunderstanding  and  the  stronger 


THE  FUTUKE.  409 

the  disposition  when  we  have  differences  to  adjust  them  in  the 
court  of  arbitration,  which  is  the  noblest  forum  for  the  settle 
ment  of  international  disputes. 

Our  industrial  enterprises,  which  have  grown  to  such  great 
proportions,  affect  the  homes  and  occupations  of  the  people  and 
the  welfare  of  the  country.  Our  capacity  to  produce  has  devel 
oped  so  enormously  and  our  products  have  so  multiplied  that 
the  problem  of  more  markets  requires  our  urgent  and  immediate 
attention.  Only  a  broad  and  enlightened  policy  will  keep  what 
we  have.  No  other  policy  will  get  more.  In  these  times  of 
marvelous  business  energy  and  gain  we  ought  to  be  looking  to 
the  future,  strengthening  the  weak  places  in  our  industrial  and 
commercial  systems  that  we  may  be  ready  for  any  storm  or 
strain. 

By  sensible  trade  arrangements  which  will  not  interrupt  our 
home  production,  we  shall  extend  the  outlets  for  our  increasing 
surplus.  A  system  which  provides  a  mutual  exchange  of  com 
modities  is  manifestly  essential  to  the  continued  healthful 
growth  of  our  export  trade.  We  must  not  repose  in  fancied 
security  that  we  can  forever  sell  everything  and  buy  little  or 
nothing.  If  such  a  thing  were  possible  it  would  not  be  best  for 
us  or  for  those  with  whom  we  deal.  We  should  take  from  our 
customers  such  of  their  products  as  we  can  use  without  harm  to 
our  industries  and  labor. 

[Reciprocity  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  our  wonderful 
industrial  development  under  the  domestic  policy  now  firmly 
established.  What  we  produce  beyond  our  domestic  consump 
tion  must  have  a  vent  abroad.  The  excess  must  be  relieved 
through  a  foreign  outlet,  and  we  should  sell  everywhere  we  can 
and  buy  wherever  the  buying  will  enlarge  our  sales  and  produc 
tions,  and  thereby  make  a  greater  demand  for  home  labor. 

The  period  of  exclusiveness  is  past.  The  expansion  of  our 
trade  and  commerce  is  the  pressing  problem.  Commercial  wars 
are  unprofitable.  A  policy  of  good  will  and  friendly  trade  rela 
tions  will  prevent  reprisals.  [Reciprocity  treaties  are  in  har- 


410  THEODORE   ROOSEVELT. 

mony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times ;    measures  of  retaliation  are 
not. 

If,  perchance,  some  of  our  tariffs  are  no  longer  needed  for 
revenue  or  to  encourage  and  protect  our  industries  at  home, 
why  should  they  not  be  employed  to  extend  and  promote  our 
markets  abroad? 

Then,  too,  we  have  inadequate  steamship  service.  New  lines 
of  steamers  have  already  been  put  in  commission  between  the 
Pacific  coast  ports  of  the  United  States  and  those  on  the  west 
ern  coast  of  Mexico  and  Central  and  South  America.  These 
should  be  followed  up  with  direct  steamship  lines  between  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  United  States  and  South  American  ports. 

One  of  the  needs  of  the  times  is  direct  commercial  lines 
from  our  vast  fields  of  production  to  the  fields  of  consumption 
that  we  have  but  barely  touched.  Next  in  advantage  to  having 
the  thing  to  sell  is  to  have  the  convenience  to  carry  it  to  the 
buyer. 

We  must  encourage  our  merchant  marine.  We  must  have 
more  ships.  They  must  be  under  the  American  flag,  built  and 
manned  and  owned  by  Americans.  These  will  not  only  be 
profitable  in  a  commercial  sense;  they  will  be  messengers  of 
peace  and  amity  wherever  they  go. 

We  must  build  the  isthmian  canal,  which  will  unite  the  two 
oceans  and  give  a  straight  line  of  water  communication  with 
the  western  coast  of  Central  and  South  America  and  Mexico. 
The  construction  of  a  Pacific  cable  cannot  be  longer  postponed. 

In  the  furtherance  of  these  objects  of  national  interest  and 
concern  you  are  performing  an  important  part. 

The  good  work  will  go  on.  It  cannot  be  stopped.  These 
buildings  will  disappear;  this  creation  of  art  and  beauty  and 
industry  will  perish  from  sight,  but  their  influence  will 
remain  to 

•  Make  it  live  beyond  its  too  short  living 
With  praises  and  thanksgiving." 

Our  earnest  prayer  is  that  God  will  graciously  vouchsafe 


THE  FUTURE.  411 

prosperity,  happiness  and  peace  to  all  our  neighbors  and  like 
blessings  to  all  the  peoples  and  powers  of  earth. 

The  day  of  President  McKinley's  death,  the 
day  Theodore  Roosevelt  assumed  the  duties  and 
recorded  the  oath  which  made  him  chief  execu 
tive  of  the  nation,  he  pledged  himself  to  carry  out 
the  policy  of  his  predecessor,  in  every  detail 
which  went  to  the  peace  and  prosperity,  the  liber 
ties  and  the  laws  of  his  country.  Here,  then,  is  the 
"lamp"  by  which  a  forecast  may  be  fashioned. 
The  United  States  will  maintain,  in  its  domestic 
economy,  the  policies  which  had  affected  trade 
and  commerce  in  the  past.  There  will  be  a  read 
justment  of  tariff  duties,  a  removal  of  the  tax 
where  it  is  no  longer  necessary,  a  reduction  where 
that  can  be  done  in  accordance  with  public  inter 
est,  and  an  extension  and  encouragement  of  trade 
with  the  nations  beyond  our  borders.  There  will 
be  a  jealous  preservation  of  the  Monroe  doctrine, 
yet  a  maintaining  of  peace  in  the  family  of  na 
tions.  And  the  canal  across  the  Central  Amer 
ican  isthmus  will  be  built  by  Americans,  financed 
with  American  money,  and  kept  within  the  con 
trol  of  Americans,  whether  peace  or  war  shall 
come. 

We  know  the  materials  which  constitute  the 


412  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

nation.  We  know  the  tendency  of  public  men 
in  this  portentous  era.  And  we  know  the  temper 
of  the  man  whose  influence,  above  that  of  other 
men,  shall  direct  the  advance  of  the  great  Repub 
lic.  Nothing  more  conclusively  illustrating 
President  Roosevelt's  position  in  this  juncture 
can  be  presented  than  his  recent  remarks  when 
the  subject  of  his  reelection  to  his  high  office  was 
suggested  to  him,  and  was  used  as  a  means  of 
inducing  him  to  appoint  to  office  a  man  whom 
he  had  learned  was  unfit. 

"I  am  going  to  select  the  best  men  for  public 
positions.  Men  appointed  to  high  public  places 
must  be  high  in  morals  and  in  many  other  re 
spects.  If  the  American  people  care  to  show 
their  approval  of  my  course  as  President  during 
the  three  years  and  a  half  I  have  to  serve,  by 
placing  me  at  the  head  of  the  Republican  ticket 
in  1904,  I  should  feel  deeply  grateful.  It  would 
be  an  honor  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  man  to 
decline.  But  if  I  have  to  pander  to  any  cliques, 
combinations,  or  movements  for  their  approval, 
I  would  not  give  a  snap  of  my  finger  for  it,  or  a 
nomination  for  it  under  such  circumstances.  My 
endorsement  must  come  from  the  people  of  the 
country. ' ' 


THE  FUTURE.  413 

When  an  earlier  triumph  came  to  him,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  asked  by  a  friend  what  had  been 
his  motto  through  life,  and  he  replied :  ' 1 1  have 
never  had  any  motto,  except  this:  'What  thy 
hands  find  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might. '  ' ' 

This  is  the  story  of  Theodore  Eoosevelt, 
twenty-sixth  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
the  hour  when  the  nation  enters  its  golden  era. 


THE  END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


nCC'D  LD 

APR30'Bb-12ivt 

MAR  2  8  1966  2  1 

MAR  2  3  RE^D 

MAY  3  -  1966  8  3 

flR22'£6-  3RCO 

LD  2lA-60m-3,'65 
(F2336slO)476B 

General  Library 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 

YC  51558 


948185 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


":;.;  « 


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